<&A a /, P' X I b l 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE NEW 

MONTH OF MARY, 

OR REFLECTIONS 

FOR EACH DAY OF THE MONTH, 

ON THE DIFFERBNT TITLES APPLIED TO 

THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, 

IN THE LITANY OF LORETTO: 
PRINCIPALLY DESIGNED FOR 

THE MONTH OF MAY. 



By thb Very Rev. P. R. KENRICK. 




PUBLISHED BY EUGENE CUMMISKEY. 

130 South Sixth Street. 



1840. 



We approve of " The New Month of Mary," prepared 
by the Very Rev. Peter R. Kenrick, and recommend the 
devout exercises which it contains, as expressive of high 
veneration for the Ever-blessed Virgin Mother of God, 
and calculated to promote the imitation of her virtues. 

Given under our hand at Philadelphia, this 25th day 
of April, 1840. 

f FRANCIS PATRICK KENRICK, 
Bp, Arath. and Coadj. of Bp. Philadelphia. 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 
1840, by 

EUGENE CUMMISKEY, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



i I- J 



Philadelphia. 

PRINTED BY KING AND BAIKD, 

9 George Str€ 



LC Control Number 



tmp96 029185 



PREFACE. 



The devotion of the faithful towards the 
Mother of God, has inspired them to consecrate 
the month of May in a special manner to her 
honor. This pious practice originated in Italy ; 
and the month of May was selected in preference 
to any other, from a wish to change a season of 
dissipation and amusement, into one of instruction 
and devotion. From Italy it passed into France, 
and other countries of Europe, where it has been 
found productive of the most beneficial results. 
Within the last few years, it was introduced into 
the United States, where it has been practised 
by numbers of the faithful servants of Mary, 
who eagerly profited by this opportunity of 
testifying their love and gratitude to the Holy 
Mother of God, and of cultivating the virtues 
which would assimilate them to this perfect 
model of Christians. 

Several works have appeared in Italy and 
France, to aid the faithful in the practice of this 
devotion. The former have generally treated of 
the great moral truths of religion ; while those 



7 V 



PREFACE. 



published in France have more particularly con- 
sidered the virtues and prerogatives of the Holy 
Mother of God. The excellent " Mois de 
Marie," of which a translation has been publish- 
ed in Baltimore, is perhaps one of the best of 
this latter class which has appeared. That the 
present writer, in presuming to offer a new 
Month of Mary to the public, may not seem 
guilty of presumption, he deems it but proper to 
declare, that he has acted more in compliance 
with the wish of a respected friend, than from 
any idea that he could improve on what had 
already appeared. The Litany of the Blessed 
Virgin seemed to offer him the most suitable 
plan for the work he contemplated ; as it would 
afford the opportunity, not only of setting forth 
the privileges and virtues of Mary, but also of 
explaining a form of prayer, which may be said 
to have received the sanction of the Church, and 
which is so generally practised by the faithful 
throughout the world. He has been obliged to 
omit some of the titles by which the Blessed 
Virgin is addressed in the Litany ; because he 
found it necessary in most instances to confine 
himself to the explanation of a single title each 
day. Still the present work may be considered 
as an explanation of the whole Litany, as the 
omitted addresses are synonymous with those 



PREFACE. 



v 



explained. Thus, for example, the explanation 
of the title " Queen of Virgins," has been left 
out, because it had already been given in the 
exposition of the preceding epithet, " Virgin of 
Virgins." The author has endeavoured to place 
before the pious reader those passages of sacred 
scripture, in which the prerogatives of Mary- 
are set forth, or which the church employs to 
describe them. The testimonies of the holy 
fathers and doctors of the church, and of others 
of her children, distinguished for piety and learn- 
ing, have been occasionally introduced ; and such 
moral lessons, as seemed naturally to arise from 
the subject of each title, have been presented to 
the attention of the devout admirer of Mary. 
It is hoped, that none of her privileges or 
prerogatives have been omitted ; and that most 
of the virtues, which should be found in her 
servants, will be found inculcated in the little 
work now presented to the public. 



I* 



ERRATA. 



p. 13, line 6— for bear, read hear, 
19, 1 1533 1599. 



PRACTICE OF THIS DEVOTION. 



1. On the evening before the first of May, 
the persons who unite to practise this devotion, 
will assemble before an altar, over which is an 
image of the Blessed Virgin, which should be 
adorned with flowers, and other suitable decora- 
tions. The Litany of the Lorettois either said 
or sung. After this the meditation is slowly read 
by one, in a clear and loud voice, and a long 
pause made at the end of each of the three parts 
into which it is divided. The example or edify- 
ing narrative subjoined to each meditation, is 
then read ; after which the prayer is to be recited, 
in which all should unite, or at least endeavour 
to excite within themselves sentiments corres- 
ponding with those expressed in the prayer. 
After the 4 practice' and 4 aspiration' have been 
read, the hymn of the Blessed Virgin, "Bright 
Mother of our Maker, Hail!" may be sung, or 
the Rosary, or some other approved devotion in 
her honor, may be recited.* The practice recom- 
mended each day may, generally, be performed 
at the usual hour of assembling, or at any other 
time of the day that may be found most conve- 
nient. The aspiration should, if possible, be 
committed to memory, so that it might frequently 
be repeated during the course of each day. 

* See the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Mary at the end 
of this book. 



8 



PRACTICE* 



2. The meditation read each evening should 
be carefully impressed on the memory, and 
made the subject of half, or at least, a quarter of 
an hour's reflection, on the following morning. 
A resolution to practise the particular virtue 
which it inculcates should be the fruit of this 
morning exercise. If possible, Mass should be 
heard each day ; and the ordinary devotions to 
Mary practised with more than ordinary fervour 
and exactness. 

3. As the object of this devotion is to eradi- 
cate vice from the heart, and plant in its stead the 
seed of heavenly virtue, each one should prepare 
for the exercises of this month, by approaching 
the sacraments of penance and the holy eucharist. 
If that be not possible, let him excite his heart to 
sincere contrition for having offended God, and 
resolve to take the earliest opportunity of being 
reconciled with Him. Each one should propose 
to overcome some vice or failing, to which he 
is most particularly subject, or inclined; or to 
acquire some virtue or degree of virtue of which 
he may stand in need, or to which the grace of 
God may prompt him to aspire. All the exercises 
of the month should be specially directed to attain 
this object. 

4. On the tenth, and twentieth days of the 
month, it is recommended to examine in what 
manner the exercises of the preceding days have 
been performed ; that thus whatever neglect or 
tepidity may have accompanied the practice of 
this devotion may be repented of and avoided. 
The sacraments of penance and the holy eucha- 
rist may be received on these days, to obtain 



PRACTICE. 



9 



pardon for the past, and the grace necessary for 
the due discharge of the remaining part of this 
salutary devotion. 

5. On the Sunday next immediately follow- 
ing the last day of the month, all those engaged 
in this devotion should approach the sacraments 
of penance and the eucharist. At a convenient 
hour in the afternoon, the act of consecration, 
found at the end of these exercises, should be 
read by the pastor of the church, in which the 
devotion has been performed. After this, with 
the bishop's permission, benediction of the Most 
Holy Sacrament should conclude the solemn act 
of consecration. This ceremony might take 
place on the last day of the month, but the follow- 
ing Sunday is generally preferred ; that all may 
have the opportunity of approaching the sacra- 
ments, and that the act of consecration may be 
performed with greater solemnity. 



10 



PRACTICE* 



THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

Lord! have mercy on us. 
Christ ! have mercy on us. 
Lord! have mercy on us. 
Christ! hear us : Christ! graciously hear us. 
God the Father of Heaven ! Have mercy on us. 
God the Son, Redeemer of the world! Have 
mercy on us. 

God the Holy Ghost ! Have mercy on us. 
Holy Trinity, one God ! Have mercy on us. 
Holy Mary ! 
Holy mother of God ! 
Holy Virgin of Virgins ! 
Mother of Christ! 
Mother of Divine Grace ! 
Mother most pure ! 
Mother most chaste ! 
Mother underlie d ! 
Mother unviolated ! 
Mother most amiable ! 
Mother most admirable ! 
Mother of our Creator! 
Mother of our Redeemer ! 
Virgin most prudent! 
Virgin most venerable ! 
Virgin most renowned ! 
Virgin most powerful ! 
Virgin most merciful ! 
Virgin most faithful ! 
Mirror of justice ! 
Seat of wisdom ! 
Cause of our joy ! 
Spiritual vessel ! 
Vessel of honour! 



PRACTICE. 



Vessel of singular devotion ! 

Mystical rose ! 

Tower of David ! 

Tower of ivory ! 

House of gold! 

Ark of the covenant! 

Gate of heaven ! 

Morning star ! 

Health of the weak ! 

Refuge of sinners ! 

Comforter of the afflicted! 

Help of Christians ! 

Queen of angels ! 

Queen of patriarchs ! 

Queen of prophets ! 

Queen of Apostles ! 

Queen of Martyrs ! 

Queen of Confessors ! 

Queen of Virgins ! 

Queen of all Saints ! 

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the 
world ! Spare us, O Lord ! 

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the 
world! Graciously hear us, 0 Lord J 

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the 
world ! Have mercy on us ! 

Christ hear us ! Christ! graciously hear us. 

Lord! have mercy on us. Christ! have 
mercy on us* Lord ! have mercy on us. 

V. Pray for us, O holy mother of God ! 

R. That we may be made worthy of the pro- 
mises of Christ. 

Let us pray. 
Defend, we beseech thee, O Lord ! through 



12 



PRACTICE. 



the intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever virgin, 
this family from all adversity; and, as in all 
humility, they prostrate themselves before thee, 
do thou mercifully protect them against all the 
snares of their enemies ; through Christ, our 
Lord. Jimen. 

The prayer of St. Bernard. 
Remember, O most compassionate Virgin 
Mary ! that, from all ages, it is unheard of, that 
any one was forsaken, who, placing himself 
under thy maternal protection, implored thy 
assistance, and begged the favour of thy prayers. 
Animated with the confidence which this in- 
spires, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, and 
mother of my God ! and in the bitterness of my 
sorrow, I throw myself at thy feet. O mother 
of the eternal Word ! despise not my humble 
supplication, but listen graciously, and merciful- 
ly grant the request, which from my heart I 
make thee. Jimen. 

Jl form of Consecration to the Mother of God, 
used by St. Aloysius Gonzaga. 

O Holy Mary ! my Mother and Advocate, to 
thy care, and particular protection, and into the 
bosom of thy mercy, to-day, and every day, and 
at the hour of my death, I commend my soul 
and body ; all my hope and consolation, all my 
difficulties and afflictions, my life, and the end 
of my life, I commend to thee : that through thy 
most powerful intercession, and through thy 
merits, all my works and actions maybe directed 
according to thy will, and that of thy divine Son* 
Amen. 



FIRST DAY. 



HOLY MARY, 

Pray for us. 

" Blessed art thou by thy God in every 
tabernacle of Jacob, for in every nation that 
shall bear thy name, the God of Israel shall 
be magnified on occasion of thee. — Judith, 
xiii. 31. 

These words were addressed to Judith 
when she returned triumphant to Bethulia, 
bearing the head of Holofernes, the leader 
of the enemies of God's people. The life 
of Judith was one of exemplary virtue. 
Deprived at an early age of her husband, 
she consecrated the days of her widowhood 
to the practices of piety and mortification 
in the retirement of her own house. " She 
feared the Lord very much/ 5 * and her con- 
fidence in his divine protection made her re- 
buke Ozias, the prince of the people of Is- 
rael, for having determined to deliver up to 
Holofernes the city of Bethulia, unless re- 
lief should arrive within five days. Nay, 



* Jud. viii. 8. 

2 



14 



MONTH OF MARY. 



more, she laid aside " the garments of her 
widowhood, and went forth to the enemy's 
camp, trusting in the protection, and relying 
on the assistance, of God. She knew that 
' His power is not in a multitude/ but that 
by her weak arm he could defeat the ma- 
chinations of the host of warriors who sur- 
rounded the city, and that " the mountains 
should be moved from the foundations with 
the waters, the rocks should melt before the 
face"* of the Lord. The gentile Achior, 
who also dwelt in Bethulia, was so struck 
with the proof of the divine power mani- 
fested in her success, that falling down at 
her feet, he reverenced her, and said : 
" Blessed art thou by thy God in every ta- 
bernacle of Jacob, for in every nation that 
shall hear thy name, the God of Israel shall 
be magnified on occasion of thee." 

The church recognises in the triumph of 
Judith over Holofernes, the leader of the 
enemies of God's people, an expressive type 
of that triumph by which Mary overcame 
Lucifer, the leader of the hosts of rebel an- 
gels, who sought to involve the human race 
in his crime of disobedience, and the punish- 
ment with which it was followed. Of her 
it was said by God to the serpent, — the mur- 
derer from the beginning: " She shall crush 
thy head."t By bringing forth Jesus Christ, 

* Jud. xvi. 1 8. 
f Gen iii. 15. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



15 



the Redeemer of the world, she has, in her 
divine Son, triumphed over the arch enemy 
of our race. She was in a much more spe- 
cial manner " blessed among women"* than 
even Judith. This heroic woman did, in- 
deed, save her people from a great temporal 
calamity, but Mary has "prevented our 
ruin in the presence of God,"t by bringing 
forth Him who blotted out "the handwrit- 
ing of the decree that was against us — fas- 
tening it to the cross." J Mary, an humble 
virgin, was the instrument of God's mercy 
and power, because " He regarded her hu- 
mility," and saw in her nothing to render 
her unworthy to co-operate with Him in 
the great work of man's redemption. 

Holiness of life is the best preparation by 
which we can render ourselves capable of 
corresponding with God's designs upon us. 
Had the piety of Judith been of an ordinary 
character, would she have ever been cho- 
sen to be a type of Mary's triumph ? would 
she have been capable of such an effort of 
zeal ? would God have inspired her with so 
much courage, and given to her weak arm 
so much strength ? Had the sanctity of 
Mary been less transcendent, would she 
have been selected to be the mother of Him 
who is holiness itself? If, then, we would 
correspond with the designs of God, we 

* Luke i. 43 f Jud. xiii. 25. * Col. ii. 14. 



16 MONTH OP MARY. 

must make holiness of life the first arid prin- 
cipal object of our solicitude. God wants 
not our wealth, for " the earth is His, and 
the fulness thereof. " He stands not in need 
of our talents and learning, for " He giveth 
understanding to little ones." He requires 
not our services, however important or in- 
dispensable they may appear to be. But 
this he demands : that we do his will, which 
is "our sanctification." If we aim at the 
perfection of virtue, and endeavour to be- 
come fit instruments in his hands, by unre- 
servedly devoting ourselves to his service; 
— although poor, like the apostles, we will, 
like them, enrich others; although not 
gifted with great talents, we will be truly 
wise, by being wise unto salvation; and 
whatever be our station, we shall contribute 
more effectually to God's glory, than other- 
wise we could, by the most abundant alms, 
the most brilliant talents, or the most de- 
voted zeal. Holiness of life is the one thing 
necessary. Where shall we find so perfect 
a model of holiness among mere creatures 
as in Mary ; or where shall we behold how 
wonderfully God rewards sanctity better 
than in her extraordinary dignity of Mother 
of God ? 

EXAMPLE. 

The venerable John Berchmaiis was born 



MONTH OF MARY. 



17 



on the 13th of March, 1533, at Diest, a 
small town of Brabant. At seven years of 
age, he was accustomed to rise at a very 
early hour, that he might thus have more 
time for study and prayer. He usually served 
many masses ; and the facility with which 
he learned his lessons, proved that the time 
he spent in the church was not lost. It 
might be said of him, — as was said of St. 
Basil and St. Gregory of Nazianzen, while 
they were students at Athens,— that he only 
knew two streets, that which led to the 
church, and that which conducted to the 
school. He made his first communion 
with sentiments of the most lively faith and 
tender piety, and ever afterwards seemed 
to live for no other purpose than to love his 
Divine Saviour and his most Holy Mother. 

On certain days he would go to pay his 
devotions to Mary in the neighbouring cha- 
pel of Montaigu. He preferred to walk 
there alone, that he might have the oppor- 
tunity of praying on the way without dis- 
traction. On the eve of such pilgrimages, 
he deprived himself of his breakfast and 
dessert, which he gave to the poor. So 
great was his purity, that he did not even 
know the name of the contrary vice. He 
avoided the most distant occasions of temp- 
tation, and shunned such of his companions 
as spoke with unbecoming freedom. 

At the close of his school studies, he was 
2* 



18 



MONTH OF MARY. 



admitted into a confraternity of students 
which was established to honor the Mother 
of God, and to induce youth to imitate her 
virtues. At the beginning of each month, 
he consulted the director of this congrega- 
tion, to know what were the faults he should 
correct in himself, and what mortification he 
should practise during the month to honour 
his good Mother. Having spent his youth so 
holily, he quitted the world, and entered 
into the Society of Jesus. In taking this 
step, he proposed to aim at perfect sanctity, 
and the remainder of his life was one con- 
tinual effort to attain perfection. On his 
death-bed, he never ceased to recommend 
devotion to the mother of God, to those 
around him, and said that the least sacri- 
fices pleased her, provided they were per- 
severed in. Addressing the Holy Virgin, 
he said : " Do not abandon me, 0 Mary ! I 
am thy son. Thou knowest I have vowed 
obedience to thee." After the recommen- 
dation of a departing soul had been read, 
he began to sing the "Ave Maris Stella," 
" Bright Mother of our Maker, hail !" and 
at the words, " Exert for us a mother's 
care/' his joy displayed itself in the extra- 
ordinary vivacity of his manner. He died 
on the 13th of August, 1621. He was de- 
clared < Venerable' by Benedict the 14th, 
in 1745, and the process of his canonization 



MONTH OF MARY. 



19 



is at present being promoted with every 
probability of success. 

PRAYER. 

Yes, Holy Virgin ! blessed be the Lord, 
who has glorified thy name, — who has put 
it in the mouths of all the faithful, — who 
has imprinted it in such a manner on our 
hearts, that after the holy name of God, 
and that of Jesus, thine should be the name 
which we most deeply revere, and most 
frequently repeat. Teach me the virtue of 
this holy name, which is sweet as the odour 
of the most precious perfumes, and full of 
unction and consolation for those who in- 
voke it. 0, Holy Mary, while I pronounce 
thy sweet name, I bring to mind the entire 
plan of my redemption, and recall at the 
same time my own duties. May thy holy 
name teach me to fulfill them punctually : 
may it protect me in the dangers of this 
life, and particularly at the hour of my 
death. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Conceive a great devotion to the name of 
Mary: pronounce it reverently, and ever ac- 
company your invocation of the adorable 
name of Jesus, with a devout aspiration to 
Mary, his most Holy Mother. « The name 



20 MONTH OF MARY. 

of Mary, says St. Antonine, is joy to the 
heart, honey to the mouth, and music to the 
ear." 

ASPIRATION. 

May thy name, O Mother of God, be the 
last sound that escapes my lips. — St. Ger- 
manus. 



SECOND DAY. 



HOLY MOTHER OP GOD, 

Pray for us. 

" Mary brought forth her first born son." — 
Luke, ii. 7. 

Mary is the Mother of God, because she 
is the mother of Jesus Christ. In this Di- 
vine Saviour, the divine and human natures 
are united in an inconceivable manner, of 
which, however, we may form some idea, 
although imperfect, by considering the 
union of soul and body in man. This 
union is called hypostatic, or personal, be- 
cause these different natures constitute the 
person of Christ. As soul and body, al- 
though so essentially different as to render 
their mutual influence on each other incon- 
ceivable, are yet so closely united as to 
form but one and the same person—man: 
so the divine and human natures, although 
infinitely distinct, are united in the manner 
above mentioned, and constitute one and 
the same person, — Jesus Christ. Jesus 
Christ is God, and consequently, Mary, 
who is his mother, is the mother of God. 



22 



MONTH OF MARY. 



She is not, indeed, the mother of the divine 
nature, which exists from all eternity, and 
could not have had a beginning, as it can- 
not have an end. But as in speaking of an 
ordinary parent, it is literally true to say, 
that she is mother of the child she brings 
forth, although the soul, the more noble 
portion of man's nature, is nowise derived 
from her, but immediately created by God ; 
so in like manner it is strictly and literally 
true to say, that Mary is the mother of God, 
because she is the mother of Jesus Christ, 
who unites in his person the two natures of 
God and man. Hence holy Elizabeth, 
when visited by Mary, after she had con- 
ceived the son of God, exclaimed : " whence 
is this to me, that the mother of my Lord 
should come to me ?"* The heretic Nes- 
torius denied that Mary was the mother 
of God, and by a necessary consequence, 
denied the hypostatic or personal union of 
the two natures of God and man in Jesus 
Christ. He thus made void the cross of 
Christ, since it is only this union which im- 
parts an infinite value to the sufferings en- 
dured by Christ in his human nature. The 
church condemned this error in the General 
Council of Ephesus, which asserted the glo- 
rious privilege of Mary, by declaring her to 
be the Mother of God. 



* Luke i. 43, 



MONTH OF MART. 23 

We cannot conceive the greatness of 
Mary's dignity in being made the mother 
of God, but we may learn from her divinely 
inspired lips, the cause of this mysterious 
elevation, which so far surpasses our limited 
conceptions. " The Lord," — says she, in the 
canticle with which she responded to the 
pious congratulations of Elizabeth, — "has 
regarded the humility of his handmaid." It 
was, then, the humility of Mary that in a 
special manner rendered her the abject of 
God's complacency. If we are to form any 
estimate of the perfection of this virtue in 
her, by the elevated dignity with which 
God rewarded it, how great must have been 
the humility of her, who, enjoying more 
abundant graces than God had bestowed on 
any other creature, was still particularly 
agreeable to God by the humility with which 
her other extraordinary virtues were accom- 
panied ? St. Bernard, when inculcating the 
necessity of this virtue, says of Mary : 
" Without humility, I am certain that even 
her virginity would not have been accepta- 
ble to God ; for although she pleased him 
by her virgin purity, still it was her humi- 
lity that caused her to be made the Mother 
of God." 

By the mystery of the incarnation, our 
nature has been wonderfully ennobled. Je- 
sus Christ, as the son of Mary, is our bro- 
ther, being made in all things like unto us, 



24 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Without sin. If, then, the humility of Mary- 
was so wonderfully rewarded, we should 
remember our obligation to practise this 
virtue, as that which will most assimilate 
us to our divine model, Jesus Christ, the 
first born of many brethren, and to Mary, 
his mother by nature, and ours by adoption. 
This is the only condition on which we can 
hope to be co-heirs with him of that glory 
which he has acquired by humbling himself 
" to death, even to the death of the cross."* 
" Learn of me," says he, " to be meek and 
humble of heart."t Yes, let us learn from 
Him to be humble, who,— although the 
Lord of all, God of God, Light of Light, — i 
annihilated himself, according to the ex- 
pression of the Apostle, by taking on him 
the lowliness of our nature, and whose 
whole life was a continual practice of the 
most profound humility. What humility 
in Him, to be born of a poor virgin — to be 
esteemed the son of Joseph — to work at an 
humble trade— to choose poor fishermen 
for his companions — and end his life in the 
most humiliating, or, rather, ignominious 
manner ! How strongly does this humility 
of Christ condemn our pride of birth and 
ancestry, — our ambition to occupy an ele- 
vated station,— and our excessive solicitude 
when our pride is attacked, by the injuries 



* Philip, ii . 8. 



f Math. xi. 29. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



25 



done to our good name. Ah ! let us look 
on the mysterious humiliations of the Son 
of God j let us look on the transcendent re- 
wards he has bestowed on the humility of 
his Virgin Mother, and let us learn from 
her bright example to imitate Jesus,and"be 
meek and humble of heart." 

EXAMPLE. 

Esther Leggues was the daughter of 
protestant parents, residing at St. Malo: 
she received from heaven a very lively 
faith. From the age of five years she was 
fond of following the catholic children to 
church; and even privately visited the 
Ursuline Nuns, for whom she had contracted 
great esteem. At six years of age, she 
resolved to profess the Catholic religion, and 
she even then began to abstain on the days 
commanded, without any regard to the 
presence of her parents, who used flesh 
meat. Her mother was so irritated at this, 
that she frequently struck her: — Esther 
remained firm, but conducted herself with 
great sweetness and respect for her parents. 
She continued daily to recite the Catholic 
prayers, and especially to address the mother 
of God in the words of the Angel : " Hail 
Mary." 

One day when her Catholic companions 
3 



26 



MONTH OF MARY. 



pretended to flee away from her as a Hu- 
guenot, — the name by which protestants 
were then known in France, — the poor child 
began to cry, and said, with tears in her 
eyes ; " although all should abandon me, I 
will endeavour to secure my salvation as 
well as I can ; and although alone, I will 
be protected by God, and assisted by the 
Blessed Virgin." 

From that period her young friends 
became still more attached to her, and 
favoured more and more her pious inten- 
tions. One of them kept her beads for her, 
which Esther would have been afraid to 
have at home. At the age of ten years, this 
extraordinary child asked to receive confir- 
mation from the bishop of St. MaJo, who, 
seeing the liveliness of her faith, was unable 
to refuse her request, and accordingly con- 
firmed her. 

She promised to observe the laws of the 
church, even were her father and mother to 
kill her, as they sometimes threatened. 
Meanwhile her parents resolved to bring 
her to a protestant church. As soon as 
Esther was aware of this, she besought 
God to take her out of life ; and her prayer 
was heard, for some short time afterwards 
she fell dangerously ill. When her compan- 
ions visited her, she told them that her 
beads had been taken from her, but that she 



MONTH OF MARY. 



continued to recite the rosary by reckoning 
the decades on her fingers. After a few 
days sickness, she resigned her pure soul to 
the hands of her Creator, whom she served 
so innocently, and loved with such early 
and strong affection. 

PRAYER. 

0 holy Mother of God, I am filled with 
confusion in appearing before one so hum- 
ble, and so holy, as thou art, whereas I am 
nothing but pride and vanity. 0 thou 
blessed among women ! I adore with thee 
the ineffable mystery of the incarnation of 
thy Son, and I beg of thee to obtain 'for me 
a lively sense of my obligation to imitate 
the humility He teaches me both in it, and 
in the other circumstances of His life and 
death. 0 Mary, pray to God for me, and 
pray without ceasing, as thou seest me 
surrounded with innumerable enemies. 
May I profit by the excess of thy Son's 
love, through thy intercession, may I praise 
and serve Him on earth, and for ever be 
associated with thee in loving and enjoying 
Him in Heaven. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Spend five minutes before Jesus Christ 



28 MONTH OF MART. 

in the Holy Eucharist, in meditating on the 
mystery of his incarnation. 

ASPIRATION. 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me. 



THIRD DAY. 



HOLY VIRGIN OF VIRGINS, 

Pray for us. 

" Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear 
a son, and his name shall be called Emman- 
uel Isaiah, vii. 14. 

In the days of Achaz, king of Juda, about 
742 years before the birth of Christ, Jerusa- 
lem was besieged by the united arms of the 
kings of Israel and Syria. They threatened 
the city, not only with the usual consequen- 
ces of a successful siege, but also with the 
destruction of the royal house of David, in 
the place of which they proposed to estab- 
lish another dynasty. It was in these trying 
circumstances, when to all human appear- 
ance the affairs of Juda were desperate, 
that God renewed to the house of Da- 
vid, by his prophet Isaiah, the promise 
he had made to that faithful servant, " to 
make his seed endure for evermore, and 
his throne as the days of heaven/'* Achaz 
did not comply with the prophet's ad- 
monition, "to ask a sign/' but covering 
his indifference and faithlessness with the 
cloak of affected respect, he said : " I will 
not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord." 

* Ps. 88. 30. 

3* 



30 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Turning from this ungrateful Son of David, 
to the house or family of that faithful ser- 
vant of God, the prophet said : " The Lord 
himself shall give you a sign. Behold a 
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and 
his name shall be called Emmanuel." By 
this prophecy they were assured that the 
designs of their enemies for the destruction 
of David's race should not be realized. 
The event foretold by the prophet was not 
indeed to occur for several centuries after ; 
but the truth of this prediction was mani- 
fested by the fulfilment of other prophecies 
made by him on the same occasion, 
which were accomplished within a few 
years. 

Every detail of the great plan for the 
redemption of man, is calculated to fill us 
with admiration : every where do we find 
the evidence of the sovereign wisdom which 
designed, and of the omnipotence which 
executed it. The virginal birth of the 
Messiah was a necessary part of the divine 
economy of the incarnation. It was neces- 
sary that God and man should be united in 
the person of the Redeemer ; but as every 
ordinary descendant of Adam is involved in 
his transgression, and as God could not 
assume a nature sullied with sin, hence the 
necessity of his being born of a virgin, that 
thus he might assume our nature, without 
participating in our guilt. Wonderful union 



MONTH OF MARY. 



31 



of wisdom and power! How profound 
should be our reverence, for a mystery in 
which every thing is so worthy of God, — in 
which His justice, mercy, and holiness are 
so signally displayed ! And what should 
not be our veneration for that favoured 
creature, whom God employed as the hand- 
maid of His mercy in the most sublime and 
affecting of all mysteries ! 

Before the fruitful virginity of Mary, this 
virtue was but little known among men. 
It is true, that among all nations it was held 
in veneration, probably because all nations 
had more or less distinct notions that the 
great Redeemer, the hope of whom glim- 
mered through the darkness of Gentile tra- 
ditions, was to be born of a virgin. But it 
was not till the accomplishment of Isaiah's 
prediction in the son of Mary that "the 
daughters saw her, and called her blessed 
and that the psalmist's words were verified: 
* After her shall virgins be brought to the 
king."t Wherever the name of Mary has 
been borne by the ministers of the Gospel 
of her Divine Son, innumerable virgins, in 
every age, and every clime, of all ranks and 
conditions of life, have consecrated to the 
"king of ages immortal and invisible/' the 
purest affections of their hearts ; and have 
found in the relinquishment of all earthly 



* Cant. vii. 8. 



f Ps. xliv. 15. 



32 



MONTH OF MARY. 



pleasures, and in the entire and undivided 
dedication of their whole being to God, a 
purer, more tranquil, and more enduring 
happiness than falls to the lot of souls of a 
less heroic character. Let us raise our eyes 
to heaven, and behold Mary encircled with 
this glorious group, " these first-fruits to the 
Lamb and to God/' who sing " as it were 
a new canticle/' which they alone can sing, 
and "follow the Lamb withersoever he 
goeth:"* then will we conceive the extent 
and nature of the title by which we address 
her, " holy Virgin of Virgins !" . 

EXAMPLE. 

Catherine Tegahkouitat of the Iroquois 
nation, was left an orphan in the fourth 
year of her age ; from which time she lived 
with her aunt, whom she obeyed with 
fidelity and affection. She devoted much of 
her time to manual labour, by which means 
she avoided idleness, and unnecessarily ap- 
pearing abroad. When she attained a suit- 
able age, her friends pressed her to marry, 
but she always found some pretext for de- 
ferring it, and this through a love of purity, 
which was the more extraordinary as she 
was not yet a Christian. She was baptized 
on Easter Sunday, in 1676, when she took 
the name of Catherine. 

* Apocalypse xiv. 3, 4. \ Lettres Edifiantes. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



33 



Shortly after, she had to endure a great 
persecution, and the malice of her enemies 
exposed her innocence to the greatest dan- 
gers. This made her determine on privately 
leaving her friends, and she accordingly 
went to a colony of converted Iroquois in 
the French settlement, where she made 
her first communion. While here, she was 
once obliged to accompany the nation to a 
hunt, and to remain for some time in the 
forests, but this was but for her an occasion 
of showing how God may be served in 
every circumstance. She fastened a cross 
to the trunk of a tree which overhung a 
rivulet, and made this retired spot her ora- 
tory. At the hour when Mass was said in 
the settlement, she would kneel down before 
it, and beg of her guardian angel to assist 
for her at the holy sacrifice, and to apply to 
her its fruit. 

Having afterwards had occasion to go to 
Montreal, where, for the first time, she saw 
some nuns, she was so charmed with their 
modesty that she wished to imitate their 
manner of living, and gave no rest to her 
confessor until he permitted her to make a 
vow of perpetual chastity, — a thing perhaps 
before unexampled among the Indians. 
She made her vow on the day of the An- 
nunciation. Catherine always spoke of 
Mary with transports of joy. She learned 
her litany by heart, and recited it privately 



34 



MONTH OF MARY. 



every evening after the night prayers, said 
in common in the cabin. In fine after 
having led an innocent and penitential life, 
like St. Aloysius of Gonzague, she departed 
out of life in the midst of the most abundant 
and sweetest consolations. 

PRAYEH. 

Behold, my God, the most holy and most 
pure of Virgins, surrounded by the daugh- 
ters of Sion, who celebrate her glory. I 
adore the wonders of thy power manifested 
in her person, and I humbly beseech thee 
to make me an imitator of her virtue, 
according to the measure of grace thou 
art pleased to impart to me. My soul is 
dedicated to thee in baptism; may it be 
ever pure and worthy to be admitted to the 
nuptials of the Lamb. Let Mary be my 
model here below, and present me hereafter 
to my heavenly Spouse, Christ Jesus, who 
with thee and the Holy Ghost, livest and 
reignest, one God for ever and ever. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Devoutly recite the canticle of the "Mag- 
nifical," and endeavour to conceive with 
what sentiments of joy and gratitude it was 
first chaunted by Mary. 



MONTH OF MARY. 
ASPIRATION. 

May He, O Mary, who ivas born of thee 
save us 7 through thy prayers receive us. 



FOURTH DAY. 



MOTHER OF DIVINE GRACE, 

Pray for us. 

" Hail, full of grace."— Luke i. 28. 

There is nothing more mysterious, or 
more necessary than divine grace. With- 
out it we cannot hope to please God, because 
without it we cannot do any thing merito- 
rious of eternal life. To whom are we in- 
debted for that inestimable gift of God? To 
Jesus Christ, who, by his passion and death, 
has not only reconciled us to his heavenly 
Father, but has purchased for us, all the 
graces of which we stand in need. " But 
not as the offence, so also the gift. For if 
by the offence of one, many died, much 
more the grace of God and the gift by the 
grace of one man, Jesus Christ, hath 
abounded unto many."* Without this 
grace, we are unable to entertain a good 
thought, or even to pronounce the name of 
Jesus, in a manner conducive to our eternal 
salvation. "Without me/' says Christ to 
his apostles, " you can do nothing." " As 
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless 



* Rom. v. 15. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



37 



it abide in the vine, so neither can you un- 
less you abide in me. I am the vine, you 
are the branches."* This grace is the gra- 
tuitous gift of God, to which we have no 
claim, except as members of the mystical 
body of Christ. He is the mystical vine ; if 
the branches abide in the vine, they will 
bear much fruit ; if they be separated from 
it, they must necessarily wither, and be fit 
for nothing else than to be cast into the 
fire. 

Mary is called the mother of divine grace, 
because she is the mother of Jesus Christ, 
" who is made unto us, wisdom and justice 
and sanctification and redemption."! God, 
who chose her to be the instrument of his 
mercy, by making her the mother of his 
Son, prepared her for this dignity by an 
extraordinary accumulation of his divine 
grace. Hence, she was saluted by the 
angel as "full of grace," J an eulogium 
which we daily address to her in the prayer 
of the angelical salutation. "Truly says 
St. Bernard, is she called full of grace, who 
obtained the grace which no other merited." 
When we reflect with gratitude on God's 
liberality to us, in the dispensation of his 
graces, we should never forget that Mary 

* John xv. 4, 5. f 1 Cor. i. 30. 

$ Luke 1. 28. 
4 



38 



MONTH OF MARY. 



was particularly instrumental in obtaining 
for us these gifts, by complying with all the 
graces she received from God, by which she 
was rendered worthy ta conceive Him in 
her soul even before she became Mother of 
God. What more powerful advocate can 
we employ with our divine Saviour when 
we petition Him for a participation of His 
graces, than her, who gave Him ta us, who 
knows how much we stand in need of His 
divine assistance, and who desires nothing 
more earnestly than that the kingdom of his 
grace should be diffused through all hearts. 
Let us then adopt the advice of Bernard : 
" let us seek for grace, and seek for it through 
Mary, because such is the will of Him, who 
has been pleased to give us all through 
Mary." 

The liberality of God towards us in the 
dispensation of his graces, imposes on us an 
awful responsibility, unless we profit by 
them. Besides the graces which we receive 
in common with all men, we cannot but 
acknowledge with sentiments of gratitude 
that God has been peculiarly bountiful to 
us, — that he has given to us graces which 
he has not vouchsafed to others. Our 
vocation to be members of the Catholic 
Church, when so many millions are estran- 
ged from its fold; — the opportunities we 
have of hearing the word of God, and of 



MONTH OF MARY. 



39 



approaching the sacraments, — these are 
blessings not enjoyed by all. We should, 
however, remember that from those to 
whom much has been given, much will be 
required ; and that, as St. Paul assures us, 
the earth that is often watered with rain 
from heaven, and brings forth briers,, is nigh 
to a curse. Let us see whether our faith 
influences our conduct ; — whether the public 
instructions we attend increase in us the 
love of God, and strengthen in us our 
determination to serve him — and whether 
we derive from the sacraments all the bene- 
ficial results they are calculated to produce? 
Should we find ourselves not to have cor- 
responded with these graces, let us not 
despond, but go with confidence to the 
throne of grace. Although our past in- 
fidelity may have rendered us unworthy 
to appear before the Saviour whose favours 
we have slighted, Mary will interpose in 
our behalf: — she will procure for us forgive- 
ness for our past neglect of grace, and will 
obtain for us that docility of heart, which 
may render us faithful for the time to come. 
Let us beg of her to secure for us, in the 
hour of our death, the grace of final perse- 
verance,— that triumphant grace which 
will crown the measure of supernatural 
gifts here below, and be succeeded by the 
contemplation and enjoyment of that God 
from whom every good gift descends. 



40 



MONTH OF MARY. 



EXAMPLE. 

Monsieur Henry Jouve, while studying at 
Grenoble in France, led a life very different 
from that which had been expected from 
his christian education, and openly adopted 
the maxims and practices of the corrupt 
society, in the midst of which he lived. 
God remembered him in his mercy, and 
resolved to bring him back to a sense of his 
duty. 

This young man had a sister, called 
Aloysia, in the convent of the Sacred Heart 
at Grenoble. She wept bitterly over the 
obduracy of her beloved brother, who re- 
mained deaf to all her expostulations and 
advice, and frequently made her pious 
solicitude the subject of his railleries. When 
God called her out of life, this unfeeling 
brother heard the news of her death without 
emotion ; and although decency obliged 
him to attend the solemn function of her 
exequies, he resolved not to manifest any 
feeling that might betray what he regarded 
as weakness of character. In taking this 
resolution, he did not know with whom he 
had to struggle : for he had no sooner 
entered the convent, than he felt an unusual 
and indescribable sensation. He was con- 
ducted to the apartment where the body of 
the deceased lay, as if in sweet sleep, or 



MONTH OF MARY. 



41 



rapt in heavenly contemplation. This sight 
affected him still more : he could not restrain 
the tears that gushed from his eyes, and 
kneeling down, he gave vent to his feelings. 

The superioress, who was much moved 
by what she saw, gave him the ring of his 
departed sister, which he thankfully re- 
ceived. Surprised at these unusual feelings 
he retired to the church, where he proposed 
to assist at the solemn Mass for Aloysia, 
more through a feeling of propriety than 
from an inspiration of devotion. On again 
beholding the lifeless body of his sister 
borne into the choir, he yielded once more to 
the feelings of nature, or rather the impulse 
of grace, and his tears flowed unceasingly. 
He continued thus agitated during the 
whole of that day. On the following 
morning he returned to ask some of his 
sister's hair, and spoke much about her. 
On another occasion he visited the convent, 
and signified his desire to be conducted to 
his sister's tomb. The superioress consented, 
but on condition that he would make a pro- 
mise which, she said, would gratify his be- 
loved sister. He is astonished— and, hesi- 
tatingly, asks ; "what promise ?" She bids 
him to reflect seriously. His agitation in- 
creases. She beseeches him to be calm, 
and to kneel. He refuses. She presses 

him to yield to the grace that moves him ; 
4* 



42 



MONTH OF MARY. 



to trample on human respect. She herself 
kneels in a corner of the room and prays 
most fervently. He walks about — goes 
away — returns — strikes his forehead, and 
cries out, " 0 Aloysia, what do you want ? 
why do you pursue me even after death ?" 
After a struggle of more than two hours 
and a half, he kneels down before an image 
of Mary, and promises much more than 
was required by the superioress. He rises, 
and often repeats, "Come, come, I have 
promised much, but I do not repent of it. 
Come, 1 must ratify these promises on the 
tomb of Aloysia." He is conducted to it. 
He casts himself on it, and bursting into 
tears, renews his promise, which was, not 
only to approach the sacraments of penance 
and the eucharist, but also to dedicate him- 
self to God without reserve, — to enter reli- 
gion. 

This miracle of grace may justly be as- 
cribed to the prayers of his sister, whom the 
superioress had recommended, a few days 
before her death, to offer up her sufferings 
to God for the conversion of one of her re- 
latives, and who saw none more dear to her, 
or who more required her prayers than her 
loved, but erring brother. This scene 
took place on the 25th of January, 1821, the 
festival of St. Paul's conversion. The young 
man subsequently entered the noviciate of 



MONTH OF MARY. 



43 



the Fathers of the Faith, among whom he 
is distinguished by his piety and talents.* 

PRAYER. 

0, holy Mother, in giving Jesus Christ to 
the world thou hast opened to us the trea- 
sures of all graces, in which are all the gifts 
of penance, fervour, fidelity and love. One 
ray of this divine light, one spark of this 
sacred fire, would suffice to render me pure 
in the eyes of thy dear Son. 0 Mary, full 
of grace, be my advocate with him ; place 
me near his throne, that his precious blood 
may protect me and blot out and efface 
every thing that has displeased him in my 
past life. " Hail then, 0 heavenly Mother, 
the glory and honour of our church. Con- 
tinually intercede with Jesus, that we may 
obtain mercy through thee in the day of 
judgment, and a participation in those goods 
which God has prepared for those who love 
him."t Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Make an act of thanksgiving to Jesus 
Christ for all the graces you have received 
from him. Beg of Mary to be your advo- 
cate and patroness with her divine Son. 

* Beau mois de Marie, p, 218. Amiens, 1838. 
f St. Chrysostom. 



44 MONTH OF MARY. 

For that purpose say the "Hail Mary," 
three times. 

ASPIRATION. 

Hail, full of grgce / 



FIFTH DAY. 



MOST PURE MOTHER, 

Pray for us. 

" Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is 
not a spot in thee" — Cant. iv. 7. 

God always adapts the means he employs 
to the end he has in view ; and accordingly 
he prepared the mother of his Son for her 
high destiny by extraordinary privileges. 
The mind cannot for a moment permit it- 
self to think this most favoured of all crea- 
tures, who was to be Mother of God, and 
who was to co-operate so mysteriously with 
Him in the great work of human redemp- 
tion, could ever have been the object of 
God's hatred, — could ever have been the 
slave of the devil by sin. Hence the church, 
guided as she is by the spirit of truth, ap- 
plies to Mary the words addressed to the 
spouse in the canticles : " Thou art all fair, 
my love, and there is not a spot in thee." 
This immunity of Mary from sin was re- 
cognised by the great doctor of the church, 
St. Augustin, who, after saying that all 
were subject to sin, subjoined : " except the 



46 



MOTHER OF MARY. 



holy Virgin Mary, whom, on account of the 
honour of our Lord, I do not wish to in- 
clude when there is question of sin. For 
hence we know that an abundance of grace 
was given to her to overcome sin in every 
respect, because she merited to conceive 
and bring forth him who knew not sin." 
St. Irenaeus had already said, in the second 
century : " It was meet that the God of all 
purity should spring from the greatest pu- 
rity, from the most pure bosom." 

Mary's extraordinary privilege consisted 
not only in being preserved from all actual 
sin and imperfection, — so that she never of- 
fended God by any sin, however light, and 
was ever docile to the inspirations of grace, — 
but also in being pure and free from the 
guilt of original sin, even in her very con- 
ception. If St. John the Baptist was sanc- 
tified in his mother's womb, when visited 
by Christ and his holy Mother, because he 
was to go 6 before the face of the Lord, to 
prepare his ways/ what shall we say of her, 
who was connected with the same Lord by 
the closest and tenderest of ties, by which 
we can conceive the creature to approach 
the Creator, and whose perfect holiness 
seems so necessary a consequence of this 
relation. It is true that as a child of Adam, 
she was either included in the decree by 
which " death passed upon all men in whom 
all have sinned," or was specially exempted 



MONTH OF MARY. 



47 



by God from the consequences of Adam's 
guilt ; but in either supposition, she was 
preserved from ever actually incurring ori- 
ginal sin, by the application of the Redeem- 
er's merits, whom she was to bring forth. 
God, with whom no word is impossible, 
could as easily have prevented her incurring 
the guilt of original sin, as free her from it 
after she had incurred it. The general 
reason above adduced is equally applicable 
here : and the short but pithy argument of 
St. Anselm cannot but produce conviction. 
" Such a privilege," says this saint, " was 
suitable to her dignity ; it was possible for 
God to confer it ; hence He conferred it."* 
This was the doctrine of the early church. 
66 She was not," says Origen, in the third 
century, " contaminated by the breath of the 
serpent." "She was," says the holy deacon, 
St. Ephrem, in the fourth century, " most 
pure from all stain of sin." " To her/' says 
St. John, of Damascus, " the serpent had no 
access." 

" Holiness becomes thy house, 0 Lord, 
for a length of days." If this be true of the 
temple which was occasionally filled by 
God's glory, and in which he was to re- 
ceive the petitions of his people, how much 
more true is it of that living temple — the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, in whom the whole 

* Decuit, potuit, ergo fecit. S. Anselm. 



48 



MONTH OF MARY. 



plenitude of the Deity abode for nine months, 
and who for thirty-three years enjoyed, al- 
most without interruption, the society of Je- 
sus Christ. Let us then honour the pecu- 
liar sanctity of Mary, and rejoice with her 
on her inestimable privilege of never hav- 
ing been, even for one instant of her exist- 
ence, the object of God's indignation or 
displeasure. We should remember that our 
own bodies are the " temples of the Holy 
Ghost and that every principle of reason 
and religion imposes on us the obligation of 
keeping them pure and undefiled. " If any 
man/' says the Apostle, " violate the tem- 
ple of God, him shail God destroy, for the 
temple of God is holy, which you are."* 
We should not be satisfied with avoiding 
sin, but should aim at perfection, according 
to the words of Christ ; " Be ye therefore 
perfect as also your heavenly Father is per- 
fect.'^ This perfection does not consist in 
doing extraordinary actions, but in doing our 
ordinary actions extraordinary well. It is 
only necessary to do, what we at present do, 
with more exactness and fervour. If we 
pray as we ought, and bring to the recep- 
tion of the holy sacraments the dispositions 
which will cause us to derive from them all 
the advantages they are calculated to pro- 
duce; if, in all our actions, we have the 



* 1 Cor. iii. 7. 



f 2 Math. v. 48. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



49 



greater glory of God steadily before our 
view, and discharge the duties of our state 
with fidelity, we shall be perfect. This is 
the perfection that God requires of us : with- 
out it we cannot hope to please him. Let 
us constantly have the example of the most 
perfect of God's creatures present to our 
mind, and make Mary our model on earth, 
that she may be our advocate in heaven. 



EXAMPLE. 

Father Ariemna relates the history of a 
poor shepherdess, who had so great a devo- 
tion to the Blessed Virgin, that her greatest 
delight was to retire to a small mountain- 
chapel, dedicated to our Lady. There she 
poured forth her heart in prayer before her 
" Good Mother/* — for that was the name by 
which she addressed her, — incessantly re- 
peating the angelical salutation, "Hail Mary, 
full of grace." Her piety found such solid 
satisfaction in this simple exercise, that she 
often remained in the chapel for several 
successive hours, while her flock pastured 
before it. 

The image of the Blessed Virgin, which 
was in this chapel, was a simple and un- 
adorned statue. The pious maid made for 
it a rustic but becoming mantle. She ga- 
thered some flowers in the neighbourhood, 
5 



50 



MONTH OF MARY. 



of which she formed a garland, and kneel- 
ing before the altar, she presented it to her 
" good Mother," saying : " Hail Mary, full 
of grace." Then ascending the altar, she 
placed this simple, but beautiful crown, on 
the head of the statue. " Mother, dear 
Mother," said she then to Mary, " I would 
willingly place on thy head a crown en- 
riched with gold and precious jewels, but I 
am a poor shepherdess, and can only offer 
you this garland. Accept it as a token of 
my affection. You know how I love you. 
I can only say, Hail Mary." 

Such simple piety and artless love could 
not pass unrewarded. This zealous ser- 
vant of Mary fell sick, and was soon re- 
duced to the last stage of the malady from 
\thich she suffered. At that time two 
members of a religious order, who were 
travelling in that district, sat down to rest 
under the refreshing shade of a tree. Both 
fell asleep, and both had precisely the same 
vision. They beheld coming down from 
heaven, like a golden cloud, a band of beau- 
tiful virgins, in the midst of whom was one 
of surpassing beauty and majesty. On 
being asked " whither she was going?" she 
replied, " I am the mother of God, and I am 
going with these holy virgins to visit a dying 
shepherdess, who, during her life, visited 
me frequently." The vision then vanished. 
On awaking from sleep, they communicated 



MONTH OF MARY. 



51 



to each other what they had seen and heard. 
¥ Let us go also," said they, " and visit this 
faithful servant of Mary." Providence 
conducted them to the cottage of this per- 
fect creature, who had attained a high de- 
gree of sanctity by the practice of her hum- 
ble duties. They found her stretched on a 
pallet of straw, exhibiting in the lily white- 
ness of her features, the purity of the soul 
which had distinguished her, and in the beau- 
tiful expression of her countenance, a con- 
firmation of the vision they had been fa- 
voured with- She had just expired. 

PRAYER. 

0, Mary, Mother of my God, thou ar* 
all beautiful, and there is no stain in thee* 
Thou art beautiful as the moon, bright as 
the sun, by the stainless purity of thy soul. 
Thou art the glory of Israel, thou art the 
honour of our race. Thou art an object of 
admiration for angels and men, who view 
with astonishment the prodigies of God's 
grace in thee. But, holy Virgin, what a 
lesson does not thy immaculate purity 
teach me, who, although not called to thy 
supereminent dignity, or invested with thy 
extraordinary privileges, am still made to 
the image and likeness of God, and com- 
manded tor make his perfection the limit of 



52 



MONTH OF MARY. 



my efforts to please him. Do thou, 0 
purest of God's creatures, do thou obtain 
for me a sense of the full extent of my ob- 
ligation to be holy, as I serve a God who is 
holiness itself, and look forward with hope 
to that blessed country into which nothing 
defiled can enter. 0, Mary, sweetest mo- 
ther of all true children of Jesus Christ, ob- 
tain for me the grace to avoid all sin and 
imperfection, and ever aspire after that 
perfection which will make me imitate thee 
more closely on earth, and entitle me to be 
nearer thee in heaven, where, in thy blessed 
company, I hope to spend a blissful eternity 
in the contemplation and enjoyment of my 
Heavenly Father. Amen. 

PRACTICE, 

Excite yourself to perfection by frequently 
remembering that your glory in heaven will 
be proportioned to your fidelity on earth. 
" There are many mansions in my Father's 
house," says our Divine Saviour. Be am- 
bitious of attaining a high degree of glory : 
it will last for Eternity. 

ASPIRATION. 

In the odour of thy perfumes we run, O 
holy Mother of God. 



SIXTH DAY. 



MOTHER MOST CHASTE, 

Pray for us. 

" Because thou hast loved chastity, therefore 
shalt thou be blessed for ever" Judith, xv. 2. 

Although the holy woman Judith was 
distinguished for the practice of all the 
virtues, she was especially honored for her 
iove of chastity ; for although "exceedingly 
beautiful" and rich, and deprived of her 
husband at an early age, she spent the days 
of her widowhood in the practices of austere 
retirement. But the virginal chastity of 
Mary was of a much higher order, and 
therefore merited for her a much greater 
reward : it was her peculiar privilege to 
possess the joys of motherhood and the 
honor of virginity. When the angel an- 
nounced to her that " she should conceive 
in her womb, and bring forth a son," al- 
though hedeclared that he should be the"son 
of the most high God," Mary hesitated, be- 
cause she did not comprehend how this could 
be effected without detriment to the virgin- 
ity she had vowed to preserve. The diffi- 
culty she found in the accomplishment of 
the angel's promise necessarily supposes 
5* 



54 



MONTH OF MARY. 



that she had made a vow of perpetual 
continence, as otherwise such a difficulty 
could not have presented itself to her mind. 
It was only on being told by the angel that 
it was to be the work of the Holy Ghost, 
and that <Hhe virtue of the Most High 
should overshadow her," that she gave her 
assent, and received the greatest favor God 
can confer on a pure creature, but which 
she would have relinquished, had it been 
incompatible with her virginal purity. 

This great mystery of Mary's virginal 
maternity was typified in the bush which 
Moses saw burning on Horeb without being 
consumed, and from out of which God sent 
him to free the Israelites from the bondage 
of Egypt, which was an expressive figure 
of our deliverance from the slavery of the 
devil by Jesus Christ the Son of this Virgin 
Mother. St. Bernard compares it to the rod 
of Aaron, which, when laid in the ark, 
budded and blossomed without having struck 
root : — -to the fleece of Gideon which became 
moist with dew while the ground around 
remained dry ; — -and to the eastern gate 
which Ezekiel saw in a vision, and of which 
"The Lord said: — This gate shall be 
shut: it shall not be opened and no man 
shall pass through it, because the Lord the 
God of Israel hath entered in by it, and it 
shall be shut."* In the inclosed garden and 

* Ezech. xliv* 2. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



55 



sealed fountain of Solomon, and in the new 
sepulchre in which the body of Jesus was 
deposited, and in which none other was 
placed, the great doctor of the church, St. 
Jerome, recognized figures of that perpetual 
virginity of the Mother of God, which he 
advocated so powerfully against Jovinian, 
and which is an article of Catholic faith. 
Impressed with the most profound venera- 
tion, for the extraordinary love of purity 
which Mary possessed, and for the great 
rewards with which God crowned it, let us 
say to her with St. John of Damascus : " 0 
pure and immaculate Queen, save me, — - 
deliver me from eternal damnation I" 

" 0 how, beautiful is the chaste generation 
with glory."* This virtue, which shines so 
conspicuously bright in Mary, has always 
been the special favorite of Heaven. God 
delights to dwell with pure souls, whom he 
enriches with extraordinary graces here 
below, and whom he rewards with peculiar 
glory hereafter. Of them it is said by our 
divine Saviour ; " Blessed are the clean of 
heart for they shall see God."t His love of 
this virtue may also be seen in the punish- 
ments He formerly inflicted, and even now 
inflicts, on those guilty of the opposite 



* Wisdom iv. 1. \ Math. v. 8. 



56 MONTH OF MARY. 

vice. Are we practically convinced of the 
beauty of this virtue ? If so, why are we 
not more careful to shun all the occasions 
which might cause the lustre of it to be 
tarnished ? Are not our senses unrestrained? 
Do we not spend much of our valuable 
time in reading the fashionable productions 
of the day, and thus lay open for ourselves 
the source of a thousand temptations or 
unbecoming recollections ? Are our man- 
ners marked with that modest reserve 
without which we are sure to disgust, while 
we endeavour to please, and what is still 
more to be apprehended, expose ourselves 
and others to offend God ? Ah ! let us turn 
our eyes to Mary, in whom God has given 
us a perfect model of purity, and in whom 
he has shown how powerful is His grace, 
when we duly co-operate with it. Such 
was the modesty of this most pure virgin, 
that St. Ambrose says/ 3 she inspired those 
who beheld her with a love for this most 
amiable virtue/ ? Let us guard cautiously 
this precious treasure, which we carry about 
in frail vessels, and be ever mindful that pur 
success in preserving it will be proportioned 
to the vigilance with which we protect it. 
Let us often raise our eyes to Mary, whose 
name alone is expressive of all purity, and 
beg of her, by her love of this virtue, to 
obtain for us that we may sanctify the state 



MONTH OF MARY. 



57 



in which God has placed us, by being holy 
both in body and in Spirit. 

EXAMPLE. 

As Mary is the "mother of holy love/' 
she regards with peculiar affection pure 
souls. What more special favorite of 
heaven and brighter example of this virtue, 
can be proposed as a model to the servants 
of Mary, than St. Aloysius Gonzague, whom 
the church styles an "angelical youth?" 
Aloysius was devoted to the service of the 
Blessed Virgin by his pious mother, whose 
life was exposed to great danger in his 
birth; she had recourse to the powerful 
intercession of Mary, to whom she promised 
to dedicate the fruit of her womb. Her 
prayer was heard; and Aloysius thought 
he could not better employ his life than in 
consecrating it to the service of Mary, Avho 
had obtained it for him. In his childhood 
he never pronounced the holy names of 
4 Jesus and of Mary' without the greatest 
respect and affection, and he soon learned 
from his pious parent to address his "dear 
mother," in the words of the angelical 
salutation. In his seventh year he had his 
regular hours of prayer, part of which 
consisted in the office of our Lady. In his 
ninth year he was sent to Florence, for the 
purpose of prosecuting his studies ; and his 



58 



MONTH OF MARY. 



progress in learning while in this city, was 
only surpassed by his rapid advances 
in virtue and perfection. He was particu- 
larly attached to the devotion of the Rosary; 
and being willing to do something to testify 
his affection for the Queen of Heaven, he 
thought he could not do any thing more 
agreeable to her than imitate her example, by 
dedicating his virginity to God. This he 
did, by a vow which he pronounced before 
the rich altar, over which is a miraculous 
picture of the Blessed Virgin, in the church 
of the Annunziata at Florence. Mary 
showed how acceptable was the offering, by 
the abundant graces she obtained for the 
holy youth, who enjoyed in a special man- 
ner the privileges God ordinarily confers on 
pure souls. His greatest delight was to 
visit a church where his " dear mother" was 
specially venerated; and from his twelfth 
year he fasted in her honor on bread and 
water on all Saturdays, as well as on all the 
vigils of her festivals. Under the influence 
of her inspiration, he resolved to renounce 
his princely title and expectations, and 
dedicate himself to God in the Society of 
Jesus ; and he sought through her interces- 
sion strength to overcome the obstacles 
which the unwillingness of his father op- 
posed to the performance of his resolution. 
He especially proposed to imitate the virtues 
of this most pure Virgin ; and in his love of 



MONTH OF MART. 



59 



poverty, humility, obedience, purity, love 
of God and man, he endeavoured to prove 
himself a faithful child of his heavenly 
mother. The examples of Jesus and Mary 
were ever before his eyes, as the love of 
them was ever in his heart, and their sacred 
names continually on his lips. He died in the 
twenty-second year of his age, young in years, 
but matured in virtue and perfection, and 
was proposed to the veneration of the faith- 
ful in 1626, by Benedict the 13th, who 
solemnly canonized him. He may not be 
inaptly styled 'the apostle of youth/ on 
account of the wonderful influence of his 
example, and of the tender affection with 
which the pious youth of all countries, most 
especially of Italy, cherish his memory. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary, thou art the most fruitful of 
mothers, and the chastest of Virgins. I 
venerate with the most profound respect the 
mysterious union of these prerogatives in 
thee, and I congratulate thee on thy 
exemption from all the miseries of our 
condition, — on thy spotless purity, and on 
thy divine maternity for which it pre- 
pared thee. 0 Virgin Mother, protect me 
through thy heavenly purity, and defend me 
against so many enemies, who surround me, 
and seek to deprive me of this most precious 



60 



MONTH OF MARY. 



possession. Obtain for me, most pure Virgin, 
the grace to aspire at the perfection of this 
virtue, by cautious vigilance over my unruly 
passions, and by carefully avoiding what- 
ever might render me unworthy to look up 
to thee as the model of my conduct, or 
prevent thee from recognizing in me, a 
faithful and devoted child. 0 Mary, mother 
of pure souls, shew thyself a mother to me 
now and at the hour of my death, and 
bring me to the beatitude promised to those 
who are clean of heart, — the contemplation 
and enjoyment of God in heaven. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Commit to memory, and frequently repeat, 
the following prayer, which is recommended 
by spiritual writers as a most efficacious 
remedy against temptation. 

PRAYER. 

" Through thy sacred virginity and im- 
maculate conception, 0 most pure Virgin 
and Queen of Angels, obtain for me purity 
of soul and body, in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen/' 

ASPIRATION. 



Shew thyself a Mother. 



SEVENTH DAY. 



AMIABLE MOTHER, 

Pray for us. 

" And he sent by the hand of Nathan the 
prophet, and called his name amiable to the 
Lord, because the Lord loved him" 2 Kings, 
xii. 25. 

This was the name given by God to 
Solomon at his birth, because he was the 
happy son of David from whom the Mes- 
siah was to descend, and because his reign 
was to be an illustrious type of the peaceful 
glories of the Messiah's kingdom. If the 
Lord loved so remote an ancestor of Christ, 
how much more " amiable to the Lord" was 
that favored creature, who conceived and 
brought him forth? When God created 
this world and beheld all the things that he 
had made, he saw that they were good, and 
was pleased in the manifestation of the 
divine perfections which they presented. 
In Mary he beheld a spotless creature, 
who, according to the scripture expression, 
" although black was beautiful" — that is, 
who although belonging to a sinful race, yet 
was unsullied by the stain of sin, having 
been exempted, through the future merits of 
her divine Son, from contracting the guilt, 
6 



62 



MONTH OF MARY. 



and suffering the consequences, of Adam's 
prevarication. Hence Richard of St. Lau- 
rence writes : " the Blessed Virgin was 
lovely even in the eyes of God," 

We cannot doubt but that our first pa- 
rents before their fall possessed natural 
advantages which we no longer enjoy. 
Mary, through the divine mercy, was not 
only placed in the same condition as if Adam 
had never fallen, but was, moreover, en- 
dowed with gifts, both of the natural and 
supernatural order, in some measure pro- 
portioned to the greatness of her destiny. 
Hence in the canticle of canticles, the spouse, 
by whom the holy fathers understand the 
blessed Virgin to be signified, is called " the 
fairest among women/'* and the daughters 
of Jerusalem are represented as struck with 
admiration at her beauty, and exclaiming, 
" Return, return, 0 Salamitess, return, re^ 
turn, that we may behold thee.^t If we 
admire the wisdom of God, exhibited in the 
beauty of the firmament or in variety of 
wonder which the earth presents to our 
contemplation, how much more justly are 
we called on to admire the manifestation of 
the same divine perfections in this singu- 
larly favoured creature. Who can refuse 
to love thee, 0 Mary," says St. Bonaven- 
ture, " thou art more beautiful than the sun, 



* Cant. i. 7. 



f Cant. iv. 1. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



63 



thou art sweeter than honey; to all thou 
art amiable, to all thou art gracious." 

Mary was amiable beyond all other crea- 
tures, because beyond all other creatures 
she reflected the divine perfections in the 
moral qualities of her nature. AJ1 that we 
can conceive of suavity of disposition, gen- 
tleness of nature, and kindliness of manner, 
were found in her in a degree far surpas- 
sing our conceptions. How many hearts 
must she not have attracted to God by the 
amiability of her deportment, in which every 
thing indicated exalted purity and godliness. 
Her look, according to St. Ambrose, in- 
spired all who beheld it with a love of purity. 
How many sinners have been converted to 
God, and how many holy souls incited to re- 
newed zeal for their salvation, by beholding 
the representation of the sweet countenance 
of this most amiable mother, who clasps the 
divine infant to her breast, and looks down, 
with an expression of mild rebuke, on those 
who esteem so little the excess of that love 
wherewith He has loved them ! Who has 
ever looked at these prodigies of the 
painter's pencil, in which are expressed 
such unearthly beauty and such sweet be- 
nignity, without ejaculating an aspiration 
to this most amiable, because most perfect, 
of creatures ? Let us endeavour to imitate 
her virtue as far as is given to our weak- 
ness; and, by showing forth the gifts of 



64 MONTH OP MARY. 

grace in the conduct of our lives, induce our 
fellow creatures to glorify our Father who 
is in heaven. Let the amiable character of 
Mary not only serve to excite us to virtue, 
but let it moreover give us great confidence 
in our applications to her for her interces- 
sion. If the recollection of our infidelities to 
God makes us dread to approach Him, let us 
fly like children to our most amiable Mother, 
according to the counsel of a holy writer, 
Hugh of St. Victor. " If you dread to ap- 
proach God, look up to Mary. In her you 
will see nothing that can terrify you. She 
is of the same race as you yourselves are." 

EXAMPLE. 

A celebrated missionary, Father Gonzales 
Silveira, brought with him to the kingdom 
of Monomatapa, in Africa, a beautiful pic- 
ture of the blessed Virgin. One of the offi- 
cers of the court saw it, and not knowing 
how to distinguish the picture from reality, 
told, his prince that the strange priest had 
brought with him a lady of singular beauty. 
The king conceived a great desire to see 
her, and sent accordingly to Father Gon- 
zales, who immediately brought him the 
painting, and told him that this was the 
lady the officer had seen. The king was 
so charmed with it, that he placed it under 
a rich canopy in his own chamber. On the 
following night, while he slept tranquilly, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



65 



he seemed to behold the Virgin surrounded 
with light, in the same dress and similarly 
ornamented as in the picture. She ad- 
dressed him in a language he did not un- 
derstand. This happened on three succes- 
sive nights. He was so annoyed at not 
understanding what the lady said to him, 
that he interrogated the missionary on the 
subject. This latter replied that the lan- 
guage of the Queen of Heaven was a 
heavenly language, and could only be un- 
derstood by a Christian. Well then, said 
the king, I will be a Christian, since it is so 
agreeable to the Queen of Heaven. He 
was accordingly instructed in the principles 
of our holy faith, and was solemnly baptized, 
together with his mother, and many of the 
nobles of his court. He then learned that 
the incomprehensible language of the Queen 
of Heaven was the means she had made use 
of to induce him to become a Christian ; 
and he esteemed this character too much 
not to be ever thankful to her by whose 
means he had obtained it. 

PRAYER.* 

0 blessed Mary, who can return thee suf- 
ficient thanks, or adequately celebrate thy 
praises, for having by thy consent succoured 
a ruined world ? What praise can human 

* Ascribed to St. Augustin. 

6* 



66 



MONTH OP MARY. 



weakness offer to thee, which by thy means 
has found the port of salvation ? Receive, 
however, our thanks, although unworthy of 
thee and unequal to thy merits, and obtain 
for us pardon by thy intercession. Receive 
our prayers within the sanctuary of thy 
clemency, and procure for us the antidote 
of reconciliation. May our offerings be 
rendered acceptable through thy interces- 
sion, and may we obtain what we confi- 
dentially ask. Receive what we offer, 
impart what we desire, avert what we 
fear, for thou art the only hope of sinners. 
Through thee do we hope for pardon of 
our sins, and in thee, 0 most blessed lady, 
is the expectation of our rewards. Holy 
Mary succour the miserable, help the pu- 
sillanimous, comfort the mournful, pray for 
the people, intercede for the clergy, pray 
for the devoted female sex, and let all ex- 
perience thy intercession who celebrate thy 
holy conception. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Keep always a picture of this most 
amiable Mother in your room, and when 
it meets your eye, make an aspiration of 
love to Jesus and to Mary. 

ASPIRATION. 

How beautiful art thou, O my beloved ! How 
beautiful art thou. — Cant. iv. 1. 



EIGHTH DAY. 



MOTHER OF OUR CREATOR^ 

Pray for us, 

u He who created me, rested in my taberna- 
cle. Eccl. xxiv. 12. 

"It is indeed, says St. Chrysostom, an 
unheard of wonder, that the ineffable God, 
whose greatness cannot be conceived by 
thought or expressed in language, and who 
is equal to the Father in all things, should 
come to us by the womb of the Virgin, and 
vouchsafe to be born ofawoman." When 
we before considered the dignity of Mary, 
as Mother of God, we rather explained the 
doctrine of the church, than dwelt on the 
consequences which follow from this truth. 
Mary is the mother of our Creator ; because 
she is the mother of Jesus Christ, — who is 
the brightness of his (the Father's) glory, 
and the figure of his substance ;* who was 
in the beginning with God ; by whom " all 
things were made, and without whom was 
made nothing that was made ;"t and " who 



* Heb. i. 3. 



t John, i. 3. 



6S 



MONTH OF MARY. 



is over all things God blessed for ever."* 
She then can say, and the expression is 
strictly true ; " He who created me rested 
in my tabernacle." 0 sublime and myste- 
rious privilege ! The dignity of Mary, is 
infinite, inasmuch as it results from the 
infinite dignity of her divine son, which no 
created intelligence can comprehend. The 
angels who stand before the throne of God; 
the seraphim who veil their faces before the 
splendors of his presence and exclaim "Holy 
Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts, the heavens 
and the earth are full of thy glory the 
spirits of the just made perfect who are 
inebriated with torrents of delight in con- 
templating and enjoying God ; — these have 
an idea of Mary's dignity, infinitely more 
correct than we can possibly have, but yet 
infinitely short of its real character. For as 
none but God can fully comprehend the 
perfection of his own nature, none but God 
can duly estimate the greatness of her who 
stands to him in the close and endearing 
relation of mother. 

This dignity is so great that St. Bonaven 
ture did not hesitate to say, what, on a 
moment's reflection, must appear evident to 
all: "that although God could create a thou- 
sand worlds more beautiful than the one 
we inhabit, yet he could not create a 



* Rom. ix. 5. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



69 



greater mother;" because her dignity as 
Mother depends on the dignity of her Son ; 
and what mother can be greater than the 
Mother of God? Hence the holy fathers 
and other saints of God's church in propor- 
tion as they meditated on, and endeavoured 
to conceive, the Majesty of God, in the 
same proportion increased in respect and 
profound veneration for that singularly 
favored creature who was chosen to be the 
Mother of God. " Mary, says St. Bernard, 
calls the God and Lord of angels, her son : 
6 Son, why hast thou done so to us.' What 
angel would dare to say this ? But Mary 
showing that she is mother, confidently 
calls that God her son, whom the angels 
humbly adore." In contemplating this 
incomprehensible elevation of Mary, let us 
address her with sentiments of admiration 
and profound reverence, in the words of her 
holy cousin St. Elizabeth : " Blessed art 
thou that hast believed, because those 
things shall be accomplished which were 
spoken to thee by the Lord/'* " Although 
we had innumerable tongues," says a very 
ancient author, " we could not sufficiently 
praise her. This is she who alone merits 
to be called by God, spouse and mother. 
She first repaired the evil of our first mother, 
and brought salvation to lost man." 



* Luke, i. 45. 



f 1 Kings, i. 1. 



70 



MONTH OF MARY. 



The greatness of Mary's dignity is best 
calculated to give us an idea of her super- 
eminent sanctity. God who always adapts 
the means to the end, prepared her for a 
dignity without parallel by a degree of 
sanctity as far exceeding that of other saints, 
as the dignity of mother exceeds that of 
friends and servants. " Wherefore, says St. 
Bernard, it was meet that the Creator of 
men, when he assumed the nature of man, 
should choose or rather create, such a 
mother from among all, as he knew was 
worthy of him, and would please him." 
St. Gregory the Great, mystically interprets 
the mount of Ephraim, mentioned in the 
first book of Kings, of Mary ; " She was a 
mountain, says he, which rose above all 
other created height, by the dignity of her 
election. — Was not Mary, says he again, a 
lofty mountain, who, that she might be 
worthy to conceive the Eternal word, was 
raised above all the choirs of angels, and 
approached the very throne of the G odhead? 
Isaiah foretelling the superexcellent eleva- 
tion of this mountain, says : 6 And in the 
last days the mountain of the house of the 
Lord shall be prepared on the summit of 
the mountains/ It was indeed a mountain 
on the mountain's top, because the eleva- 
tion of Mary shone resplendent above that 
of all the saints. But the supereminent 
dignity and sanctity of Mary should not 



MONTH OF MARY. 



71 



be the matter for mere admiration; — it 
should serve to impress us more deeply 
with a sense of the greatness of the God 
whose creatures we are, and who in our 
creation has imposed on us the obligation 
of being holy, as he said to the Jewish 
people: " Be ye holy, because I the Lord 
your God am holy/* 

example;. 

In the fifth century of the Church, Nesto^ 
rius, bishop of Constantinople, a proud and 
haughty man, who concealed much impiety 
under an appearance of zeal and piety, 
displayed at length the venom of his heart 
by preaching publickly in the church that it 
was not permitted to call Mary the mother 
of God. The people heard this impiety 
with the greatest consternation. All Con- 
stantinople was excited, and the faithful 
were indignant at the insult offered to Mary, 
by attempting to deprive her of a title which 
had been given her from the days of the 
apostles. Venerable old men, who had 
spent their lives in the desert in the practice 
of the severest austerities, now impelled by 
zeal abandoned their retreats, and appeared 
in the streets and public assemblies, to 
defend the honor of the Queen of Heaven, 
and to caution the people against the im- 
pious errors of Nestorius. The bishops 



72 



MONTH OF MARY. 



and pastors of the church, well knowing 
that the whole mystery of. human redemp- 
tion would be annihilated, if the error of 
Nestorius prevailed, undertook the defence 
of Mary's dignity with the greatest zeal. 
A general council was held at Ephesus in 
431 9 at which bishops from various countries 
assisted, and over which St. Cyril the pa- 
triarch of Alexandria presided as legate of 
Pope Celestine. The error of Nestorius 
was condemned ; and he himself anathema- 
tized as an innovator. It is difficult to 
describe the joy and exultation which this 
decision of the Church excited in Constan- 
tinople, and throughout all Christendom. 
On the day in which the decree of the 
council, on the nature of Mary's dignity, 
was solemnly announced, almost the whole 
city assembled before the church where the 
bishops were assembled. The people 
awaited in patience the whole day, as if 
nothing was more important or dearer to 
their heart, than the determination of this 
question. At length the doors being thrown 
open, St Cyril appeared at the head of 
more than two hundred bishops, and an- 
nounced to the people the condemnation of 
Nestorius and his impious doctrine. Scarcely 
had he ceased to speak, when the multitude 
burst into exclamations of joy, and the 
whole city resounded with hymns and con- 
gratulations to Mary. — " The enemy of 



MONTH OF MARY. 



73 



Mary is overcome," — they exclaimed. "Joy 
to Mary, the great, the sublime, the glorious 
Mother of God l" The fathers of the council 
were received by the people with praises, 
and conducted home, accompanied by a 
thousand torches. Costly perfumes were 
burned in the streets through which they 
passed, and the whole city was illuminated. 
Nothing was omitted to render the triumph 
of Mary complete. It was on this occasion 
that the church added to the angePs saluta- 
tion the words:, "Holy Mary Mother of 
God, pray for us sinners now and at the 
hour of our death." Amen. 

PRAYER. 

I salute thee, 0 Mary, Mother of my 
Creator, and hope of Christians. Listen to 
the prayer of a sinner who wishes to love 
thee tenderly, and who places in thee all his 
hope of salvation. To thee I owe all the 
spiritual advantages which Jesus Christ has 
procured for me : re-instate me in the favor 
of thy Divine Son, and be the advocate of 
my weakness and unworthiness. I beseech 
thee to obtain from Him the pardon of all 
my sins : dissipate the darkness of my 
understanding, destroy the worldly affections 
of my heart, repel the temptations of my 
enemy, and preside over all the actions of 
my life, that by thy assistance and maternal 
7 



74 MONTH OF MARY. 

direction, I may arrive at eternal happiness. 
Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Exercise this day some act of humility 
in honor of Mary, 

ASPIRATION. 

Make me worthy to praise thee, 0 Sacred 
Virgin! 



NINTH DAY. 



MOTHER OF OUR REDEEMER, 

Pray for us. 

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou 
shall call his name Jesus. For he shall save 
his people from their sins. Math. i. 21. 

The titles on which Mary claims our 
respect and gratitude are so many, that it is 
only by considering them separately we can 
form to ourselves adequate ideas or correct 
notions of them. If she challenges all our 
veneration, on account of the snpereminent 
dignity as Mother of God, she is entitled to 
all our gratitude as Mother of our Redeemer. 
As Eve was the cause of the ruin of the 
human race, because, although her own 
transgression would not have involved us 
in her guilt and its consequent punishment, 
yet she was the occasion of the fall of 
Adam, who was seduced by her example 
and solicitation, so Mary is properly styled 
by the holy fathers, "the cause of our 
salvation," because, although of herself she 
could not have reconciled us with God, yet 



76 



MONTH OF MARY. 



in giving us Jesus Christ by corresponding 
with God's designs upon her, she has 
afforded us a Redeemer, who is " a propitia- 
tion for our sins, and not only for ours, but 
for those of the whole world." St. Iren- 
aeus who lived in the second century of the 
church says : " As Eve by disobeying 
became for herself and the whole human 
race the cause of ruin, so Mary by obeying 
became the cause of salvation to herself 
and the whole human race."* In another 
place he says that "Mary was made the 
advocate of Eve." t " Eve, says St. Augus- 
tin, was the cause of death to man, for by 
her, death entered into the world; but 
Mary is the cause of life, by whom life was 
born to us, and by whom the Son of God 
came into the world, that where sin had 
abounded there grace should abound, and 
whence death originated thence life might 
proceed, and that He who was made life 
for us by a woman, should overcome the 
death brought on by a woman." St. Jerom, 
expressed the same thought in fewer words: 
" Death came by Eve ; life by Mary." 

What a momentous mission was that on 
which the archangel Gabriel was sent to 
Mary, when he announced to her that she 
should conceive and bear a son, who was 

* S. Iren : lib. iii. c. xxxiii. 
j- St. Iren : lib. v. cxix. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



77 



to be called Jesus, because he was to "save 
his people from their sins." On the assent 
of the Virgin to the proposition made her, 
hung the destinies of the human race. How 
the angels of God must have paused in 
breathless expectation of her answer, and 
when they heard issue from her mouth the 
words : " behold the handmaid of the Lord: 
be it done unto me according to thy word;" 
how the vaults of heaven resounded with 
the glorious anthem of # glory to God on 
high and peace to men of good will," which, 
on the night of Christ's nativity, re-echoed 
from the earth ! What would have been 
our condition if Mary had not yielded this 
ready compliance with God's will? We 
have every reason to conclude, that man 
would not have been redeemed. God 
could, of course, have employed other 
means, but there is nothing to make us 
believe that he would have done so. On 
the contrary all that we know of the ordi- 
nary course of his providence, tends to 
warrant the contrary inference. He has 
established an admirable order of dependence 
between the different members of the human 
family. The vices or virtues of the parent 
have a serious effect on the morality of his 
offspring ; and no man can wander from 
the path of duty or walk steadily in it, 
without exercising a favorable or unfavora- 
ble influence on others. Wary then merits 
7* 



78 MONTH OF MARY. 

all gratitude for having fulfilled the glorious 
designs which God had on her. St. Ber- 
nard, addressing her says : " By means of 
thee has heaven been opened and hell 
closed, the heavenly Jerusalem restored, 
and life given to those who expected death." 
We cannot have a due conviction of the 
benefit of the redemption which Christ has 
effected for us, and not have a deep sense 
of our obligations to her, who was so mys- 
teriously instrumental in procuring them. 

If Mary had so great a part in our 
redemption, we may easily conceive that 
she will be most zealous for the application 
of its benefits to us. We cannot employ a 
surer means of being purified in the blood 
of her son, than by frequent recourse to her, 
who knows the value of the gift we seek, 
and our inevitable ruin unless we obtain it. 
" Mary, says Venerable Bede, stands in the 
presence of her son, and never ceases to 
intercede for sinners."* She knows our 
misery : she feels every wound we inflict 
on Jesus Christ by our transgressions : she 
compassionates our unhappy lot if we fail 
to profit by the plentiful redemption she 
has procured for us through Jesus Christ. 
Hence she is styled by St. Ephrem, " the 
conciliatrix of the world." Hence St. Basil 
asserts that God has ordained that she 



* Beda in Cap. 1. Lucae. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



79 



should assist us in every thing.* And is it 
not reasonable that she who had so myste- 
rious a part in the accomplishment of man's 
redemption should have the most extensive 
influence in the application of the merits of 
it to our souls. Let us then ever accom- 
pany our meditation on our redemption 
through Christ, and our petitions to be 
washed m His blood, with corresponding 
gratitude to Mary and unlimited confidence 
in her intercession. Let us address her in 
the language of St. Ephrem : " Hail hope 
of the soul, firm confidence of christians, 
advocate of sinners, bulwark of the faithful, 
and cause of the world's salvation." 

EXAMPLE. 

On Sunday, the 3rd of September, 1837, 
a captain of the French army, about forty- 
four years old, was passing by the church of 
Notre Dame des Victoires, in Paris, at half 
past seven in the evening. He enters 
through curiosity, and goes up to the altar 
dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Mary. 
The preacher in speaking of St. Augustin, 
whose festival was then celebrated, had 
occasion to mention Africa and Rome. The 
officer, who had served in the Italian cam- 
paign, and had just returned from Algiers, 
remembered the names of many places 

* S. Basil de annuntiatione Beats Virginis. 



80 



MONTH OF MARY. 



which he had seen, or in the neighbourhood 
of which he had been. This made him 
take an interest in the discourse, and remain 
till it was over. At the end of the service, 
the priest bade the 'association of the Heart 
of Mary* pray for the conversion of whoever 
among those present stood most in need of 
it. The captain felt that he was the one 
whom this designation best suited ; he was 
much moved, and fell on his knees to pray. 
On the following day he visited the director 
of the association, and gave him an exact 
account of what had occurred the preceding 
evening. " What particularly struck me," 
said he, " was that St. Augustin, when he 
was converted, prepared himself to receive 
baptism by retiring to Cassi. I know Cassi, 
it is a village, almost entirely consisting of 
taverns, near Milan. I have often gone 
there to dance, and amuse myself. What a 
contrast, said I to myself, St. Augustin went 
there to do penance, and I to indulge my 
passions. I am not yet a Christian, I have 
not been baptized." Such was really the 
case, owing to the indifference of his father. 
He now felt a strong desire to imitate the 
repentance of St. Augustin, and expressed 
a wish to receive holy baptism, He pre- 
pared for it with great fervor, and, in a few 
days, received it, as also the sacraments of 
confirmation and the eucharist. His heart 
was overflowing with gratitude to his di- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



81 



vine Saviour and his holy Mother, and he 
resolved to practise the duties of his reli- 
gion, and show himself to be a practical 
Catholic during the rest of his life.* 

PRAYER. 

O most holy Mother of our Redeemer, 
what a deep gratitude do not Christians 
owe thee for thy instrumentality in our re- 
demption. In giving us Jesus Christ, thou 
hast given us a Redeemer who is flesh of 
thy flesh, over whom, as mother, thou hadst 
dominion, but whom thou didst willingly 
deliver up for our salvation. Yes, holy 
Mother, if we owe all to Jesus Christ, who 
has redeemed us, to thee we owe Jesus 
himself, as it was thy obedience to God's 
will to cause the designs of his ineffable 
mercy to be accomplished. 0 thrice happy 
Virgin, thou dost dispense thy favours with 
liberality and love. I recommend myself 
to thee, and as thou hast the dispensation 
of the inexhaustible treasures of God's 
grace, by thy influence with Jesus, impart 
them to my poor soul with a liberality cor- 
responding to its great necessities. Suffer 
not a soul to be lost for which Christ died. 
Through thy intercession may I experience 
the application of His saving merits on 

* Manuel d'instructions et prieres. Paris, 1839. 



82 



MONTH OF MARY. 



earth, and through them attain the eternal 
happiness he has purchased for me by his 
blood. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Be exact in saying the " Angelus Domini" 
at morning, noon and night, in commemo- 
ration and thanksgiving for the benefit of 
redemption. 

ASPIRATION. 

Heart of Mary, compassionate the obduracy 
of my heart. 



TENTH DAY, 



VIRGIN MOST PRUDENT, 

Pray for us* 

" This woman was most prudent." — 1 
Kings xxv. 3. 

The Holy Ghost pronounced this eulogi- 
urn on the virtues of Abigail, whose pru- 
dence enabled her to bear with the imper- 
fections of her husband, Nabal, and to 
appease the anger of David. Her prudence 
was, however, but imperfect when com- 
pared with that which we admire and 
venerate in Mary. This prudence was 
manifested first, by devoting herself to 
God's service at an early age, when she 
was presented by her holy parents in the 
temple of God, where she remained occu- 
pied in the meditation of his law, and in 
the celebration of his divine perfections. 
The church applies to her the praise which 
our Divine Saviour pronounced on Mary, 
the sister of Martha, when this latter com- 
plained that her sister remained at the feet 
of Christ, in silent contemplation of the di- 
vine wisdom. "Martha was busy about 



84 



MONTH OF MARY. 



much serving," and most modern Christians 
would probably conceive that she was 
more meritoriously employed than her sis- 
ter. The divine lips of Jesus have, how- 
ever, pronounced the eulogium of the latter : 
" Mary hath chosen the better part which 
shall not be taken away from her." The 
blessed Virgin, in choosing " the better part," 
manifested her singular prudence, as this is 
a virtue which guides us in the choice of 
objects, and in the selection of the measure 
to attain them. Her excellence in this par- 
ticular is the more remarkable, as she had 
no example to imitate, but was the first to 
give the example of a total and perpetual 
voluntary sacrifice of herself to the divine 
service. May we learn from it to choose 
ever the better part, according to the measure 
of grace imparted to us, and ever esteem it 
as the greatest happiness and the most con- 
summate wisdom, to be occupied on earth 
as the blessed are in heaven, — in contem- 
plating and adoring the divine perfections ! 
Happy those souls who are - called to this 
life "hidden with Christ in God !" 

In the other circumstances of Mary's 
life, we perceive no less evidence of her 
prudence. So far removed was she from 
every thing that could diminish the lustre 
of this virtue, that when her spouse, St. 
Joseph, perceived her pregnancy, he seems 
rather to have been involved in perplexity, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



85 



than inclined to suspicion. Mary, with the 
fullest reliance on God, does not seem to 
have made any effort to vindicate her inno- 
cence, but patiently awaited the supernat- 
ural manifestation of her divine maternity. 
Again, although she appears not often in 
the evangelical history of our Lord, when- 
ever she is mentioned, we may perceive the 
prudence which distinguished her. After re- 
maining three months with her holy cousin, 
St. Elizabeth, she returns to Nazareth, when 
the time of the birth of St. John the Baptist 
approached, in order, as the holy fathers re- 
mark, to avoid the observation of those who 
would be assembled on such a joyous occa- 
sion. Like the prudent merchant in the 
gospel, she studiously concealed the pre- 
cious jewel she possessed, and did not un- 
necessarily expose it, by imprudently man- 
ifesting the extraordinary favor God had 
imparted to her. She treasured up all the 
words spoken of her Divine Son, by the 
angels on the night of his birth, pondering 
on them in her heart, as also those which 
the prophetess Anna and the holy Simeon 
pronounced when He was presented in the 
temple. During the public ministry of 
Christ she seldom appears, as best became 
her sex, and her near relation to the Re- 
deemer, but whenever we find mention of 
her, we may gather from the brief notice the 
8 



86 



MONTH OF MARY. 



evangelists take of her, the evidences of her 
singular prudence. 

The prudence of Mary shojitd be for 
us a subject of close imitation. Whenever 
we have either to choose a state of life, or 
determine on any important matter, what 
are the motives by which we are influenced ? 
To act prudently on these occasions, we 
should act on the principle laid down by 
Christ, in his answ*er to Martha: " There 
is indeed one thing necessary." This is the 
criterion by which we should try and prove 
all things. Whatever conduces to the great 
end of our creation, — the attainment of 
heaven, should be embraced ; whatever is 
opposed to it, or likely ta place obstacles to 
us in our course, should be rejected. To 
act otherwise, — to be influenced by consider- 
ations of present gratification or emolument, 
and not by the principle above laid down, 
is to invert the order established by God, 
who commands us to " seek first the king- 
dom of God and his justice." It is to lay 
the foundation of our happiness on a sandy 
soil, and thus expose ourselves to be invol- 
ved in the ruin that will certainly follow. 
Even in our most trivial actions we should 
be governed by prudence, as it is the only 
means by which we can please God, and 
avoid the violation of fraternal charity. The 
words of the psalmist should often be our 
aspiration to God : — " Set a watch, 0 Lord, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



S7 



before my mouth, and a door round my 
lips." Let us imitate that truly prudent 
Virgin, whose example the Church so much 
recommends to our imitation, and from 
whom we may learn prudence without 
guile., and wisdom without affectation. 

EXAMPLE. 

St. Alphonso de Liguori was, in the early 
part of his life, a distinguished lawyer. 
Having lost an important suit, which had 
occupied his attention for an entire month, 
and which he was certain of gaining, he 
felt a disgust for the world, and resolved 
to embrace the ecclesiastical state. He was 
subsequently founder of the order of the 
Liguorists, otherwise called, Redemptionists, 
whose principal object is to announce the 
truths of salvation to the poor. He was 
afterwards made bishop of St. Agatha Dei 
Goti in the kingdom of Naples. 

Never did this man of God permit a day 
to pass without spending some time before 
an altar dedicated to ihe Blessed Virgin. 
He never undertook any thing, however 
trivial, without invoking her, whom he 
called his Mother, and, after God, his only 
hope. Often in his sermons did he speak in 
the most touching manner of this Mother of 
sorrows. " At the foot of the cross," he 
would say, "she adopted us in the person 



88 



MONTH OF MARY. 



of John. By the sword which pierced her 
heart, she is become for us a Mother of 
mercy ; let us therefore, poor sinners, have 
recourse to her in our pressing dangers/' 

In his missions he was accustomed to 
give a sermon on the patronage of the 
Holy Virgin, which always produced most 
happy results. Often on such occasions did 
the most hardened sinners feel themselves 
touched by grace, and, in amazement at 
their change of feeling, demand with ear- 
nestness to be admitted to penance. The 
zeal of this great saint redoubled whenever 
the devotion to his good Mother was attack- 
ed. " Some innovators," he would say, 
" have risen up, who assert that the venera- 
tion given to the Virgin is injurious to God. 
They deny her influence ; they reject her 
intercession. It is our duty to vindicate her 
privileges." He proved, after St. Bernard 
and other fathers of the Church, that a true 
servant of Mary cannot be lost, because 
such a one must necessarily fulfil all the 
conditions required by God for salvation. 
The number of prayers, and beautiful 
hymns, which he composed in her honor, 
and numerous works of piety, especially 
his " Glories of Mary," and his " Visits to 
the Holy Virgin," attest his extraordinary 
devotion to the Mother of God. Several 
well authenticated miraculous favors which 
God conferred on him through Mary, are 



MONTH OP MARY. 



89 



recorded in his life published in Italy and 
France. 

This glorious saint, who from his child- 
hood had asked every day, through the in- 
tercession of Mary, for the grace of a happy 
death, was consoled in his last moments by 
a vision of the Queen of Heaven. Holding 
a crucifix in his hand, and with the image 
of Mary before him, he calmly expired in 
the 90th year of his age, in 1787. He was 
canonized by the present Pope, Gregory the 
16th, on the 26th of May, 1839. 

PRAYER. 

O most prudent Virgin, I approach thee 
with sentiments of the most profound vene- 
ration, and I congratulate thee on the hea- 
venly prudence thou didst manifest from thy 
earliest years, and which always distin- 
guished thee through life. Thou art the 
prudent Virgin, who didst seek God in all 
thy actions, and ever kept thy lamp burning 
by the oil of good works, with which thou 
didst continually replenish it. May I imi- 
tate thee in this respect, and not expose my- 
self to be excluded, like the foolish virgins, 
from the nuptials of the Divine Son, by 
reason of my tepidity or want of vigilance. 
0 Virgin, bright mirror of heavenly wisdom, 
be unto me a guide, and make me ever pre- 
fer what is most conducive to my salvation, 
8* 



90 



MONTH OF MARY, 



to what would flatter my pride or gratify 
my feelings. Preserve me from those errors 
in which passion would involve me : may I 
be simple and prudent, sincere without 
levity, and reserved without moroseness. 
Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Make it a rule in all your actions, especially 
those of moment, to examine what influ- 
ence they will have on your eternal desti- 
nies. Let this be the criterion by which 
you judge of them. 

ASPIRATION. 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray fw us 
sinners, note, and at the hour of death. 



ELEVENTH DAY. 



VENERABLE VIRGIN, 

Pray for us. 

"All Generations shall call me blessed* — 
Luke i. 48. 

When holy Elizabeth congratulated the 
blessed Virgin on the supernatural favour 
she had received from God, this humble 
handmaid of the Lord, inspired by the Holy 
Ghost, composed that canticle of thanks- 
giving from which these words are taken. 
How wonderful was this prophecy ! A 
poor Virgin, distinguished by nothing ex- 
cept her extraordinary piety, foretells that 
"ail generations shall call her blessed." 
And so fully has this prediction been ac- 
complished, that its fulfilment may be 
considered as one of the strongest proofs of 
our divine religion. We can say to her, as 
Ozias, the prince of the people, said to Ju- 
dith, " Blessed art thou, daughter, by the 
Lord, the Most High God, above all women 
upon the earth. Because He hath so mag- 
nified thy name this day, that thy praise 
shall not depart out of the mouth of men, 
who shall be mindful of the power of the 



92 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Lord for ever, for that thou hast not spared 
thy life, by reason of the distress and tribu- 
lation of thy people, but hast prevented our 
ruin in the presence of our God."* 

Yes, all generations have called her 
blessed ! When peace was restored to the 
church by the triumph of Constantine, and 
the Christians were permitted to erect pub- 
lic churches for the worship of God, the 
piety of the faithful towards the Mother of 
their Redeemer, manifested itself in the nu- 
merous and magnificent temples they erected 
to her honour. The council of Ephesus, in 
which she was declared to be justly styled 
the " Mother of God," against the heretic 
Nestorius, was held in one of those churches 
which religion had raised to God under her 
invocation. How many holy doctors, in 
every age, have consecrated their talents to 
celebrate her praises ! Like St. Bernard, 
they could find no end of speaking of Mary ; 
for the more they considered her dignity and 
holiness, the more they found themselves 
incapable of adequately expressing them. 
The eloquence of orators, the genius of poets, 
the talents of painters and sculptors, — not 
only in one age or country — but in every 
age and country where Christianity has 
been known — have combined to celebrate 
her praises, and transmit to future genera- 



* Judith xiii. 23, 25. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



93 



tions the feelings of religious veneration 
which they themselves experienced. What 
a multitude of religious orders have been 
instituted in her honour, and under her spe- 
cial patronage. In these, thousands of holy- 
souls daily repeat the canticle of praise and 
thanksgiving to God, which first fell from 
Mary's lips, and — esteeming themselves 
honoured in being accounted her servants — 
faithfully endeavour to copy into their lives 
the lessons of obedience, purity and humi- 
lity, which she gives to all Christians. The 
church of Jesus Christ has instituted nume- 
rous festivals in her honour, and in comme- 
moration of the benefits conferred on us 
through her instrumentality. In a word 
the praises of Mary have been celebrated 
by all that is venerable in ancient or mo- 
dern times, for the sanctity of their own 
lives, and the wonders of God's power dis- 
played in their actions. Truly then have 
all generations called her blessed. As God 
has not bestowed on any other creature 
such abundant graces or favours as on 
Mary, so he has not given to any other 
creature to enjoy such universal and heart- 
felt admiration as the Virgin Mother of 
His Son. Let us then join in this universal 
voice of Christian piety, and, uniting our 
praises with those of all the just on earth, 
and of all the angels and saints of heaven, 
say to her with St. Cyril of Alexandria : 



94 



MONTH OF MARY. 



" Praise be to thee, 0 holy Mother of God ! 
Thou art the precious jewel of the earth, an 
undying lamp, the crown of virginity, the 
sceptre of the orthodox faith. Thou art an 
inviolable temple containing Him whom no 
space can include." 

This veneration, with which Christians 
of all ages have honored the Virgin Mary, 
and which is so much encouraged by the 
church, is most reasonable in itself, and 
most efficaciously promotes the greater glory 
of God. If all the friends of God were 
much honoured by the psalmist,* how 
much more worthy of honour and venera- 
tion is she whom Jesus Christ himself ho- 
noured as his parent on earth ? The glory 
which Mary receives from us does not de- 
tract from, but, on the contrary, augments 
that which we are bound to give to God. 
" Whatever praise," says St. Bernard, " we 
give to the Mother, is referred to the Son, 
for the King is honored by the respect 
manifested for the Queen." It is the tri- 
umph of God's grace we celebrate, when 
we celebrate the praises of Mary. Hence 
St. Gregory, of Nicomedia, addressing her, 
says, " The creator regards thy glory as his 
own." If the saints have venerated her so 
much, and have found themselves unable to 
express all their feelings of respect and 



* Ps. cxxxviii. 17. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



95 



affection for her, it was because they had 
such sublime ideas of God's majesty and 
goodness. To honor her, is to honor God, 
whose creature she is, and from whom, 
consequently, she has received all that she 
possesses. To confide in her, is not to 
distrust His providence or mercy, but to 
employ the most powerful means to obtain 
what we ask for from Him. " The dignity 
of the intercessor," says St. Anselm, " sup- 
plies our unworthiness, and hence to implore 
the assistance of the Virgin is not to distrust 
the divine mercy, but to diffide in our own 
unworthiness." In honoring Mary we only 
accomplish the designs of God who by her 
mouth declared— what he has not declared 
of any other creature — " that all generations 
should call her blessed." 

EXAMPLE. 

The church honors on this day the mem- 
ory of St. Francis Hieronymus of the Society 
of Jesus, who may be called the apostle of 
the kingdom, and especially of the city, of 
Naples. He was a most faithful servant of 
Mary; he had for her the most tender 
affection, and incessantly laboured to excite 
similar feelings in others. On all Saturdays 
of the year, as well as on all Vigils of the 
Blessed Virgin, he fasted on bread and 
water, not to speak of other austerities 



96 



MONTH OF MARY. 



he practised in honor of Mary. In the 
church of the Jesuits at Naples, there is an 
image of the Holy Virgin, sent thither 
from Rome by St. Francis of Borgia, and 
which is venerated under the title of " Mary 
the greater." This holy man exerted him- 
self wonderfully to direct the attention of 
the people to it, and to excite among them 
sentiments of tender confidence in the 
Mother of God. For twenty-two years 
he continued to preach on every Tuesday 
in a church dedicated to God in her honor, 
and laid before the people the extraordinary 
privileges of Mary, and the liberality with 
which she rewarded her faithful servants. 
He was especially zealous in exciting youth 
to the practice of this devotion, as he deemed 
it the most powerful means of guarding 
their innocence, or of correcting their errors. 
He was often accustomed to say, that 
whoever did not honor Mary could with 
difficulty be saved. In all doubts and 
difficulties he recurred to her as to his sure 
counsellor ; and in her found protection in 
all his dangers, assistance in all his under- 
takings, help and relief in all his embarrass- 
ments. Never did he appeal to her without 
being heard. In his missionary sermons he 
always caused an image of Mary to be 
placed before the people, thereby to draw 
down the blessing of heaven on his minis- 
try, and to lead his hearers to Jesus through 



MONTH OF MARY. 



97 



Mary. It is inconceivable what great 
things this apostolic man performed by the 
assistance of Mary, or how many souls he 
won to heaven by means of his untiring 
zeal. Devotion to Mary was propagated 
wherever duty called him to labor for the 
salvation of souls. The mother of mercy 
did not let his zeal pass unrewarded. After 
having aided and protected him during life, 
she assisted him in a special manner at the 
hour of his death, which occurred in Naples 
in the year 1716. He was beatified by 
Pius the 7th in 1S06, and was solemnly 
canonized by the present Pope, Gregory 
the 16th, on the 26th of May, 1839. Let 
us learn from St. Francis, to love and honor 
this most Venerable Virgin, and we will 
experience the truth of his maxim, that the 
faithful servant of Mary will not be lost. 

PRAYER. 

0 Most venerable Virgin, I salute thee 
as the most honored of God's creatures, and 
therefore venerate thee with all the fervour 
of my soul. There is no other creature in 
heaven or on earth, that can be compared 
with thee. May all tongues proclaim thy 
praise. I rejoice at thy supereminent glory, 
whenever I repeat that canticle in which 
thou didst foretell, that all generations 
should call thee blessed. 0 blessed indeed 
9 



98 



MONTH OF MARY. 



art thou amongst all creatures ! May I ever 
remain thy faithful, thy devoted servant on 
earth, that, by thy intercession, I may 
hereafter deserve to behold that glory with 
which God crowns thee in heaven, and 
return thanks to Him during eternity for all 
the favors he has conferred on thee, and 
through thee, on all mankind. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Recite the "Magnificat" in honor of 
Mary, and endeavour both by exhortation 
and your own example to promote devo- 
tion to this Venerable Virgin. It is the 
surest means by which you can obtain 
God's grace. 

ASPIRATION. 

Thou art beautiful and comely, 0 daughter 
of Jerusalem I 



TWELFTH DAY. 



POWERFUL VIRGIN, 

Pray for us. 

" In thy hands are power and might " — 
1 Paralip, xxix. 12. 

The Holy Virgin is most powerful with 
Jesus Christ. While on earth this Divine 
Saviour was subject to her, and obeyed her 
as his Mother, according to St. Luke, " he 
went down with them and came to Naza- 
reth and was subject to them." She is His 
Mother no less in heaven now, than she 
was while on earth. How powerful then 
must not Mary be with her Divine Son !* 
" The son/' says St. Bernard, " will surely 
hear the Mother."t When Solomon, who 
was a type of Christ, saw his mother ap- 
proach, he rose from his throne, bowed to 
her, and ordered her to be seated on a 
throne at his right hand. When she inti- 
mated that she had a petition to make, he 
replied : " My Mother, ask, for I must not 
turn away my face." If this great king 
thus honored his mother, and gave her such 



* Luke, ii. 51. 



f 3 Reg. ii. 20. 



100 



MONTH OF MARY. 



influence over him, although she was a 
poor sinful creature, — how much more 
efficacious with Jesus will be the prayer of 
Mary, who has not only the natural in- 
fluence of a mother, but whose perfect 
holiness must render her so acceptable to 
God, the author and re warder of all sanctity. 
May we not then say, in the language of 
the learned and truly pious Cardinal Bel- 
larmin: "How secure must we be when 
protected by so great a mother? Who 
will draw us from her? What temptation 
or affliction can overcome those who confide 
in the protection of her who is the Mother 
of God, and our Mother also." 

We have a striking instance of Mary's 
power with her Divine Son recorded in the 
gospel of St. John.'" At the marriage feast 
of Cana of Galilee, when the wine was ex- 
hausted, she represented to Him that they 
had no wine. Although He declared that 
his hour was not yet come for manifesting 
himself to the world, yet in compliance with 
her request, he changed water into wine, 
which was the beginning of his wonders. 
Is Mary likely to be less powerful with Him 
now, that his hour for applying the fruits 
of his redemption is come, than she was 
then ? Will he be less moved with her 
representation of our spiritual necessities, 



* John ii. 



MONTH OF MARY. 101 

than he was by her charitable interference 
on the occasion referred to ? Or will she 
be less likely to interest herself for us, when 
she beholds the multiplied dangers which 
surround us, and our own spiritual destitu- 
tion, than she was to prevent the confusion 
and disappointment of the guests at the 
marriage feast ? We may be assured that 
Mary will plead for us with her Son still 
more effectually than she did at the mar- 
riage feast. Will the Eternal Father refuse 
any thing to her, on whom He has accumu- 
lated so many favors, who was ever obedi- 
ent to His commands, and whom He made 
use of in t he great work of the incarnation of 
His Son ? Will the Holy Ghost, by whose 
mysterious power she conceived Jesus 
Christ, who always dwelt in her by grace, 
and who always found her so docile to His 
inspirations, — will He refuse her when she 
petitions for a communication of the same 
grace to our souls ? Or will Jesus, the ami- 
able Saviour of mankind, reject the intreat- 
ies of her, who brought Him forth, who 
nursed His infancy and cared His childhood, 
and who, in all the circumstances of His 
life, from Bethlehem to Calvary, participa- 
ted in His labours and sufferings for the 
redemption of the world ? We cannot re- 
flect on these motives of confidence in Mary 
without entering into the sentiments of St. 
9* 



102 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Bonaventure : " It is the great privilege of 
Mary to be most powerful with her Divine 
Son." 

The efficacy of Mary's intercession has 
been experienced and celebrated in all ages 
of the Church. By means of it, have the 
most hardened sinners been converted, and, 
by the fervor of their penance, have con- 
soled the Church, which they had before 
scandalized by their disorders. By it, has 
many a wavering heart been confirmed in 
its virtue, many a tepid soul been roused 
to the practice of virtue, and many a faith- 
ful servant been excited to go from virtue 
to virtue, and make renewed efforts to at- 
tain perfection. Why then has it not pro- 
duced in us similar effects ? We will find, 
perhaps, that our tepidity, or neglect of her 
service, and the want of fidelity and fervor 
in our devotional practices to Mary, are the 
causes of the little benefits we may have 
derived from the appeals we have hitherto 
made to her. Let us animate ourselves to 
increased exactness in all that appertains to 
her service, and, with St. Bernard, " vene- 
rate Mary with all our heart and affection, 
because such is the will of Him who has 
been pleased to give lis all through Mary. 
Let us then adhere to her, and not let her 
go, until she bless us, for she is power- 
ful." 



MONTH OP MARY. 



103 



EXAMPLE. 

In the seventeenth century lived a holy- 
priest, Father Bernard, who distinguished 
himself by his love of poverty and his char- 
itable care of the poor, and whose name is 
famous in France as the " poor priest." He 
was born at Dijon on the 26th December, 
1588. After a youth spent in the frivolity 
of the world, he was converted, and receiv- 
ed the order of priesthood at Paris, on which 
occasion he consecrated himself by vow to 
the service of the poor and suffering. In 
the early part of his new career, he suffered 
much from the repugnance he felt in visiting 
the public hospitals, but he at length so far 
overcame himself, as to behold without 
emotion the most disgusting objects. 

He constantly visited the prisons in Paris 
to inspire their inmates with sentiments of 
resignation, of penitence, and Christian 
hope. At the end of his exhortations, he 
caused all to sing the < Salve Regina.' Fa- 
ther Bernard was particularly zealous in 
promoting the recital of the celebrated 
prayer of St. Bernard to the Mother of God 
— "Memorare" — " Remember O most pious 
Virgin." He caused it to be translated into 
various languages; and distributed more 
than two hundred thousand copies of this 
excellent prayer, by means of which he ef- 
fected innumerable conversions. 



104 



MONTH OF MARY. 



One day he accompanied to the scaffold 
a hardened culprit, who even then ceased 
not to blaspheme. The good priest follow- 
ed him to the ladder, and made an effort to 
embrace him. The other pushed him back 
so violently as to knock him down. Al- 
though much hurt by the fall, Bernard arose, 
and falling on his knees, began his favorite 
prayer, "Remember 0 most pious Virgin" 
The impenitent culprit immediately burst 
into tears and gave every sign of a sincere 
repentance. 

On another occasion, Father Bernard vis- 
ited a prisoner under sentence of death, who 
refused to approach the sacrament of pe- 
nance. He saluted the unhappy man ; ex- 
horted him to hope in God, and menaced 
him with the divine judgments in case he 
continued obstinate. The other remained 
unmoved, He begged him to recite at least 
a short prayer to Mary : he refused. Then 
he himself began his favorite prayer, in the 
hope that the prisoner would join him, but 
the unhappy man remained silent. Not 
dismayed by his want of success, the holy 
man persisted in his efforts, and at length 
triumphed over the obstinacy of the object 
of so much zeal. Scarcely had he pro- 
nounced the first words of the above men- 
tioned prayer, than the other burst into tears, 
and manifested the deepest compunction, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



105 



PRAYER. 

0 most powerful, because most faithful of 
God's creatures ! I presume to approach 
thee, with a lively sentiment of my own 
un worthiness to address God, whose indig- 
nation I have so much deserved, and a 
strong conviction in the efficacy of thy in- 
tercession with Jesus, thy Divine Son, who 
has placed in thy hands all power and 
strength. May these sentiments always 
increase within me, that I may never pre- 
sume on my own strength, but place all my 
confidence in thee. Obtain for me, 0 Glori- 
ous Virgin, a sincere conversion, strength 
and resolution in the hour of trial, and the 
grace of final perseverance. Jesus can re- 
fuse thee nothing, whereas my iniquities 
render my prayers unworthy of being re- 
garded by Him. Thou hast crushed the 
head of the infernal serpent and snatched 
from him the prey which he hoped to pos- 
sess for ever. 0 powerful Mary, preserve 
me against the rude assaults by which 
he endeavors to regain what he has lost, and 
do not desert me, that I may never more 
relapse into my former state of servitude. 
Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Resolve to shew your confidence in the 



106 MONTH OF MARY. 

powerful protection of Mary, by invoking 
her assistance in ail your temptations, 

aspiration. 

Hail holy Queen, Mother of Mercy ! Our 
life, our sweetness, and our hope, 



THIRTEENTH BAY. 



MOST FAITHFUL VIRGIN, 

Pray for us. 

" Be faithful unto death" Apoc. ii. 10. 

We read in the gospel that when our Sa- 
viour was discoursing to the multitude who 
listened with admiration to the divine wis- 
dom that fell from his lips, a woman from 
the crowd addressed him, saying : " Blessed 
is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts 
that gave thee suck — to whom Jesus an- 
swered : " Yea, rather, blessed are they who 
hear the word of God and keep it."* The 
holy fathers find in this reply of Christ an 
eulogium on Mary, by which she is declared 
to be more blessed for having heard the word 
of God and kept it, than for having even 
conceived and brought forth the Saviour of 
the world. And in fact the dignity of 
Mother of God would not have rendered 
her pleasing in His sight, if it were possible 
that it could be the privilege of a tepid or 
unfaithful creature. The virtues by which 



* Luke xi. 28. 



108 



MONTH OF MARY. 



God prepared her for it, and by which He 
made her worthy of that high honor, were 
the effect of His grace with which she free- 
ly co-operated. But the dignity of being 
the Mother of God was a gratuitous favor, 
— a privilege, in which she had no other 
part than a submission to the Divine Will. 
Hence St. Augustin says : " The Virgin 
Mary is pronounced blessed, because she 
did the will of the Father. This it was that 
our Lord extolled in her." 

The fidelity of Mary in corresponding 
with all the graces she received from God, 
and with all his designs upon her, deserves 
both our attention and admiration, and is 
well calculated to give us an idea of her su- 
pereminent sanctity. " The foundations 
thereof are in the holy mountains," that is, 
—according to the explanation which sev- 
eral of the holy fathers give of this text, 
which they apply to the Blessed Virgin, — 
6 Mary's sanctity commenced where the 
sanctity of other saints terminated ; — their 
elevation was but the foundation on which 
the superstructure of that mysterious house 
which the divine " Wisdom built for itself," 
was raised/ As Mary was always faithful 
in corresponding with the divine grace, who 
can conceive the altitude of that building 
which, as St. Gregory the Great says, reach- 
es up to the throne of the divinity? Yes, 
Mary is greater, more exalted, and more 



MONTH OF MARY. 



109 



worthy of our admiration on account of this 
extraordinary fidelity to God's grace, than 
even by the title of Mother of God. 

What an important lesson is afforded us 
in the fidelity of Mary ! Little do we know 
what great designs God has on each one of 
us ; little do we know the measure of grace 
he will impart to our souls, if we yield a 
ready compliance with his heavenly inspi- 
rations. How many souls wallow in the 
mire of human corruption, whom God 
designed to be models of heroism and zeal, 
but who, by being unfaithful to the grace 
of God, have become rocks of scandal, and 
have caused the ruin of innumerable souls ! 
How many continue all their lives in tepid- 
ity and indifference, because they do not 
listen to the word of God, impelling them 
to the practice of perfect virtue, which is 
the sacrifice required from them, by that 
God, who will not suffer any rapine in the 
holocaust ? On the contrary, how many 
holy souls, imitating the fidelity of Mary, 
have fully corresponded with the designs 
of heaven, and have attained that goal, 
which God marked out as the point which 
they should reach, before they were trans- 
ferred from this probationary state of exis- 
tence, to that never ending happiness where 
their fidelity is to be rewarded ! Let us 
often direct our thoughts to our heavenly 
home, and behold, in spirit, the bright 
10 



110 



MONTH OF MARY. 



crown which rewards the fidelity of Mary, 
and of those, who, like her, have been 
"faithful unto death. " Let us endeavour 
to excite ourselves to renewed vigilance, 
and profit by all the means of advancing in 
virtue with which God may supply us. A 
faithful correspondence with all the graces 
we receive in the sacraments — in prayer — 
in reading good books — in public instruc- 
tions—in edifying examples, will be the 
best means by which we can secure for 
ourselves perseverance unto the end, when, 
through Mary's intercession, we may hope 
to be faithful to the last decisive grace 
which will terminate the series of his mer- 
cies to us. What a happiness will it then 
be to hear from the lips , of Jesus Christ ; 
the consoling invitation ; " Well done thou 
good and faithful servant, because thou 
hast been faithful over few things, I will 
place thee over many things : enter into the 
joy of the Lord."* 

EXAMPLE. 

St. Dominick was born in Old Castile in 
the year 1170, and was chosen by God to 
diffuse the light of the gospel throughout 
the world. He was particularly successful 
in opposing the errors of the Albigenses, 
who at that time afflicted the church by 
their impieties, while they desolated the 

* Math. xxv. 21. 



t 



MONTH OF MARY, 



111 



south of France by their seditions. This 
great servant of God was untiring in his 
efforts to promote religion ; and his preach- 
ing was confirmed by the sanctity of his 
life, and the multitude of miracles with 
which God attested the truth of the doctrine 
he announced. Devotion to Mary was, as 
he himself testifies, the principal weapon he 
made use of in this holy warfare in which 
he was engaged with error. Before begin- 
ning to preach he always knelt down, and 
invoked the assistance of Mary in these 
words : " Make me worthy, 0 Sacred 
Virgin, to announce thy praise, give me 
strength "against thy enemies." Although 
the zeal of the holy man was not without 
fruit, as many were converted to the true 
faith, the result did not correspond with his 
expectations. Many sinners and heretics 
remained obstinate in their errors, and 
closed their ears to the words of truth. 
Dominick was afflicted at their obstinacy, 
but was comforted by a vision of the blessed 
Virgin, in 1202, by which he learned, that 
as the angelical salutation was the means 
God employed to prepare her for the incar- 
nation of his son, so the devotion of the 
Rosary, in which that prayer is so fre- 
quently repeated, would be the best means 
of confirming men in its belief. This 
advice filled Dominick with the greatest 
consolation. Instead of wearying him- 



112 



MONTH OF MARY. 



self with long and tedious controversies, as 
he had been accustomed, he recommended 
the Rosary, to the people in his public 
discourses; he expounded to them the 
various mysteries it commemorates, and 
taught them, both by word and example, in 
what manner they should perform this 
devotion. He soon saw that more souls 
were gained to God by this simple means, 
than by all his other exertions. It gave 
strength* and unction to his discourses; it 
moved the hearts of the most obdurate 
sinners, and brought innumerable sectaries 
back to the church. With reason then is 
this prayer so strongly recommended to us. 
In order to promote its adoption among the 
faithful, the church imparts many indulgen- 
ces and other spiritual advantages to those 
who practise it with piety and exactness. 
If we have any care for our own salvation 
or the conversion of our brethren, we should 
have recourse to it; and accompany the 
recital of the prayers with reflecting on the 
mysteries of the life, death, and resurrection 
of our Saviour which they are intended to 
commemorate. The faithful practice of this 
devotion will be an efficacious means of 
recommending us to the protection of the 
Holy Virgin, who will obtain for us, as she 
did for Dominick, counsel in our doubts, and 
relief in our difficulties. 



MONTH OF MARY, 



113 



PRAYER. 

O most prudent Virgin, who in all thy 
actions ever hadst the accomplishment of 
the divine will in view, and whose holiness 
was continually receiving additional lustre 
by the perfect fidelity , with which thou 
didst correspond with divine grace, — I, a 
poor, unfaithful servant of God, implore 
thy intercession in my behalf. The con- 
sciousness of my infidelities terrifies me, 
especially when I consider how destitute I 
am of all real holiness, notwithstanding the 
special favors I have received from the 
divine bounty. Ah, faithful Virgin, how 
can I hope to obtain pardon for the neglect 
with which hitherto I have abused God's 
grace, or expect to be hereafter the object 
of his favor, unless thou dbst become my 
advocate for the past, and my security for 
the future. Yes, Holy Virgin, thy fidelity 
shall be from this moment, the model which 
I will endeavour to imitate. I will no 
longer resist the Holy Ghost, by refusing to 
listen to the inspirations which He sends 
me, but will henceforward seek, not to do 
my own will, but the will of my heavenly 
Father. Offer this my resolution, 0 Holy 
Virgin, to thy divine Son, and obtain for me 
the grace necessary for faithfully observing 
it. Amen. 

10* 



114 



MONTH OF MART, 



PRACTICE. 

Resolve to let. no day pass without say- 
ing, if possible, the third part of the Rosary. 
How little do we think of a quarter of an 
hour spent in idle conversation ! If we 
were really devout to Mary, we would find 
time enough for this most salutary and most 
consoling devotion, 

ASPIRATION. 

Mother and Virgin, make me always mind- 
ful of thee ! S. Philip Neri. 



FOURTEENTH DAY, 



MIRROR OF JUSTICE, 

Pray for us. 

" We see note through a glass." 1 Cor. 
xiii. 12. 

In creating the world, and still more in 
redeeming it, God proposed to himself his 
o wn greater glory in the manifestation of his 
divine perfections. " The Lord hath made 
all things for himself," says the inspired writer 
of the book of Proverbs.* Hence creation 
may be likened to a mirror, in whiah the 
attributes of God are reflected and dis- 
played. This is more particularly true of 
the souls of the just than of the material 
works of God. Such souls reflect the attri- 
butes of the Deity, in consequence of their 
free co-operation with the divine grace, and 
are consequently more worthy of admira- 
tion than if they were merely passive mir- 
rors of the divine perfections. Mary then 
is peculiarly entitled to the appellation of 
" Mirror of Justice," because both in the 
excellence of her natural qualities, and the 
superior perfection of her soul, she more 
truly displayed the perfections of God, than 
the brightest angels who surround his throne, 

* Prov. xvi. 4. 



116 



MONTH OF MARY. 



or the accumulated sanctity of all his saints, 
were all their merits united and found in 
one person. With what complacency must 
not God have looked on this masterpiece of 
his creative and redeeming love J 

Mary is the mirror of justice, wherein we 
may see and endeavour to imitate what we 
cannot but admire. She has ever been held 
up to Christians as the brightest model of 
all virtues, and her example -has had, in 
every age of the church, the most effica- 
cious influence on the morals of the faithful. 
"Let the life of the blessed Mary," says St. 
Ambrose, "be ever present to you, in which, 
as in a mirror, the beauty of chastity, and 
form of virtue shine forth. She was a vir- 
gin, not only in body, but in mind, who 
never sullied the pure affection of her heart 
by unworthy feelings. She was humble of 
heart, serious in her conversation, prudent 
in her counsels, fonder of reading than of 
speaking. She placed her confidence ra- 
ther in the prayer of the poor, than in the 
uncertain riches of this world. She 'was 
ever intent on her occupations, reserved in 
her conversation, and accustoined to make 
God, rather than man, the witness of her 
thoughts, She injured no one, wished well 
to all, reverenced age, yielded not to envy, 
avoided all boasting, followed the dictates 
of reason, and loved virtue. When did she 
sadden her parents, even by a look ? When 



MONTH OF MARY. 



117 



did she quarrel with her friends, despise the 
humble, mock the infirm, or avoid the needy? 
She only visited those whom charity would 
not disown, nor modesty pass by. There 
was nothing forward in her looks, bold in 
her words, or unbecoming in her actions. 
Her carriage was not abrupt, her gait not 
indolent, her voice not petulant, so that her 
very appearance was the picture of her 
mind and the figure of piety." So far this 
holy doctor of the church. 

We also should endeavor to correspond 
with God's designs in creating and redeem- 
ing us, and shew forth His divine perfec- 
tions. Alas ! how humiliating the reflec- 
tion, that hitherto, perhaps, God has in vain 
looked for any indication of His wisdom or 
justice in us. Instead of that innocence to 
which he restored us in baptism, does he 
not behold us immersed in guilt ? Instead 
of that perfection to which he has called us, 
and to attain which he has given us such 
abundant means, does he not find tepidity 
and imperfection ? Are we mirrors of jus- 
tice for our neighbours, who by seeing us 
should be excited to glorify our Father who 
is in heaven ? Do we give them the exam- 
ple of justice, temperance, modesty of lan- 
guage and of manner, devotion and charity, 
which they have a right to expect from us, 
and on which, perhaps, their salvation may 
depend ? What reproaches does not con- 



118 



MONTH OF MARY. 



science make us on this subject ! Let tip 
then for the present turn away our .eyes 
from the sight of our own guilt or imper- 
fection, and fix them on that bright mirror 
of Justice, which the church holds up to our 
veneration. Let us beg of her that we may 
be imitators of her, as she has been of Christ, 
and let us ask her, with filial confidence, to 
obtain for us that we may be known in fu- 
ture as her children, by our faithful imita- 
tion of the virtues she has exemplified in 
her life, 

EXAMPLE. 

John Bessard was a native of the village 
of Stains in the neighborhood of St. Denis, 
near Paris. He was educated with great 
care by the parish priest, and was from his 
childhood a model of purity, and exact' at- 
tention to all his duties. As he advanced 
in age he advanced in virtue ; and in his 
thirtieth year he formed an association of 
several of the villagers, whom he assembled 
on Sundays after divine service, that thus 
they might be preserved from th,e tempta- 
tions of intemperance and dissipation. He 
read for them some pious book, or made 
some simple instruction, with the approba- 
tion of the parish priest. 

He visited all the sick of the village, and 
during forty years, very few died in it with- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



119 



out enjoying the benefit of his assistance in 
their last moments. This faithful servant 
of God knew that exterior practices of piety 
powerfully contribute to the promotion of 
virtue, and he accordingly engaged most of 
his associates to enter the confraternity of 
the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He selected this 
confraternity in preference to any other, be- 
cause he thought it best calculated to cause 
the infinite goodness of Jesus Christ to be 
remembered. 

On the days specially set apart to honor 
the sacred heart of his Divine Master, 
Bessard, and a large number of his fellow 
villagers approached the holy communion. 
He loved to dwell on the sentiment of St. 
Augustin : " that the side of Jesus has been 
opened to procure us a passage to his heart, 
where we may learn how excessive was 
his love for men." He had received the 
name of John in baptism, and considered 
himself specially bound to regard the Holy 
Virgin' as his Mother. He imitated her 
silence, her love of solitude, her prompt 
obedience, the purity of her heart, her 
profound humility, her attention to meditate 
on the words of Jesus Christ, and her affec- 
tion for sufferings and humiliations. 

He always spoke of Mary with the most 
profound respect. He proposed her as a 
model to young females, many of whom 
were induced by his exhortation, to secure 



120 



MONTH OF MARY. 



their salvation by embracing the religious 
state. Those who remained in the world 
acknowledged that they were indebted for 
their perseverance in virtue and piety, to 
the habit he had made them contract, of * 
regulating their conduct after the example 
of the Mother of God. 

This faithful imitator of Mary died in the 
eighty-fourth year of his age, in 1752, at 
Paris, where he was interred. His fellow 
villagers were inconsolable at not possessing 
the remains of their holy brother, whom 
for a long time they regarded as the tutelary 
angel of the place. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary, glorious mirror of justice, in 
whom God's perfections are more brightly 
reflected than in any other creature, I hum- 
ble myself before thee at the view of thy 
unexampled holiness, and I now resolve to 
take thee for the model of my conduct. I 
am penetrated with the most profoundtregret 
at the recollection of my past sins, which 
have made me, perhaps, an occasion of ruin 
to many, whom, by my good example, I 
ought to have attracted to virtue. When I 
reflect on all the opportunities of doing 
good, and advancing my own and my 
neighbor's salvation, which I have let pass 



MONTH OF MARY. 



121 



without profit, I dread not only the account 
that I must give of the evil I have done, but 
also what I will have to answer for the 
good I have neglected to do. 0 holy Virgin, 
be thou my advocate with thy divine Son, 
and make me show forth in all my actions 
the holiness of the God whom I serve, and 
my sense of the obligations imposed on me 
by the character of thy servant. Amen. 

PRACTICE, 

Examine how you have complied with 
the obligation 1 incumbent on all, of giving 
good example. See especially whether you 
do not indulge in imperfections, which 
diminish the influence the general regularity 
of your conduct would otherwise command? 

ASPIRATION. 

Sweet heart of Mary, most closely united 
with the adorable heart of Jesus, compassionate 
our misery. 



1 1 



FIFTEENTH DAY, 



SEAT OF WISDOM, 

Pray for us. 

66 Wisdom hath built herself a house."-^- 
Prov. ix, 1. 

Mary was the seat of wisdom, because 
the mother of the increated wisdom : — " the 
first born before all creatures." As the 
praises of the son are necessarily participated 
in by the mother, the church celebrates the 
dignity of Mary by repeating in the public 
service by which she honors her, the praises 
of her divine Son. The wisdom of God 
was manifested in the creation of the 
world according to that of the psalmist — 
" Thou hast done all things in wisdom." 
In the 24th chapter of the book of Eccle- 
siasticus, the effects of this divine wisdom 
are described. " I came out of the mouth 
of the Most High, the first bom before all 
creatures. I made that in the heavens 
there should rise light that never faileth, 
and as a cloud I covered all the earth. I 
dwelt in the highest place, and my throne 
is in a pillar of a cloud. In me is all grace 



MONTH OF MARY. 



123 



of the way and of the truth, in me is all 
hope of life and of virtue."* And yet 
this divine wisdom was not esteemed by 
men, when it dwelt among them. Jesus 
was clad in a fool's garment by the wisdom 
of this world ! His doctrine is foolishness to 
those who are prudent in their own conceits; 
and those who will walk in his footsteps 
must be content to be esteemed fools for his 
sake. Mary participated more in this 
wisdom than any other creature, because 
she approached nearer the source whence 
it emanated. If Jerusalem was the subject 
of the prophet's admiration on account of 
the peculiar presence of God in its holy 
temple, may we not apply his words to 
Mary — that living temple of God in whom, 
in Jesus Christ, " the whole plenitude of the 
divinity dwelt corporally," « Glorious things 
are said of thee, 0, city of God ! 

Mary manifested in all her actions the 
fruits of the divine wisdom which had 
made her the tabernacle of God with men. 
",The fear of the Lord, says the Psalmist, is 
the beginning of wisdom," and his holy 
fear was signally displayed in Mary. How 
great must have been this filial fear with 
which Mary watched over all her actions, 
and which preserved her from ever display - 



* EccL xxiv. 



124 



MONTH OF MARY. 



ing the divine wisdom. Was not her 
wisdom manifested in the choice of so holy 
& spouse as Joseph, who was at once the 
guardian of her innocence before God, and 
of her character before men ? Was not her 
wisdom displayed by treasuring up in her 
heart whatever words were spoken of her 
divine son ? But why enumerate particular 
instances? Did she not enjoy for thirty 
years the society of Him, of whom the 
evangelist remarks that he " advanced in 
wisdom and age and grace before God and 
men?"* 

How happy was Mary in being the 
favored creature, in whom was fulfilled 
what the Eternal Father said to the increated 
wisdom of His Son. " Let thy dwelling be 
in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and 
take root in my elect !"t How still more 
happy in displaying this divine wisdom in 
her actions ! While we offer her the homage 
of our admiration, on this double title, 
let us reflect a little on ourselves. We and 
ail creatures are the work of God's wisdom: 
.every thing both within and without us is 
calculated to display his attributes. Do we 
ever advert to our obligation of seeing God 
in all things, and of rising from the contem- 
plation of the creature to that of the great 



* Luke ii. 52. 
f Eccl. xxiv. 13. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



125 



Creator ? The light of reason and revelation 
which we enjoy, are participations of the 
divine wisdom. Do we esteem them els we 
ought ? Do we never undervalue, by our 
maxims and conversation, the wisdom 
which Christ teaches us in the gospel? 
Alas ! how much is it to be feared, that 
while we esteem so much worldly wisdom, 
which confines its views to the limited 
prospect of this life, we pay but little atten- 
tion to the dictates of that wisdom which is 
from above, and which alone can make us 
truly wise ! We should remember that the 
wisdom of this world is foolishness with 
God, and that the secrets of divine wisdom 
are imparted to the poor and humble, 
while they are hidden from the wise and 
prudent of this world. Let us not then be 
wise in our own conceits, but carefully 
imitate the example of her whom the church 
calls the 6 seat of wisdom/ 



EXAMPLE. 

Leander Vandrisse was born at Lille, on 
the 5th of November, 1808, of worthy pa- 
rents, and at a suitable age was apprenticed 
to a printer. Being naturally well disposed, 
he delighted in succoring the distressed. 
Having once saved up a little money to 
purchase for himself some articles of dress, 
he was proceeding to buy them, when 
11* 



126 MONTH OF MARY. 



he met with a poor creature, who appeared 
ready to expire from hunger. Leander 
gave him the money he had about him, and 
quite pleased with the good action he had 
done, entered a church to pray. On this 
occasion, however, he acted more from nat- 
ural sensibility, than from the higher mo- 
tives supplied by religion. 

About this time he was much addicted 
to the reading of romances and novels, of 
which he was passionately fond, and which 
filled his mind with many vain and danger- 
ous thoughts. Happily he one day took 
up a good book, — "The History of Religion, 
by Lhomond." He was delighted with the 
simple and interesting style of this writer ; 
and he soon felt disgusted at the light and 
frivolous works in which he formerly took 
pleasure. " I am tired of novels/' said he 
to a friend, who, like him, was much de- 
voted to that kind of reading, " I find with- 
in myself a frightful void. I must adopt a 
settled line of conduct, and be entirely vir- 
tuous: otherwise I fear I shall turn out 
badly. I must choose between an eternity 
of happiness and an eternity of misery. 
Eternity ! Do you really feel the force of 
this awful word ? Had you read the ter- 
rific description of hell I perused a few days 
ago ! I cannot hide from myself that I 
must die, and that my life hangs on a 
thread !" 



MONTH OF MARY. 



127 



Shortly afterwards, Leander made a gen- 
eral confession, and ever afterwards gave 
the most edifying example of the virtues of 
his state. He formed a society of young 
artizans, who often met during the week- 
evenings, to recite the rosary together. For 
some time Leander was threatened with 
consumption, which at length brought him 
to the grave. During his sickness, all his 
thoughts were turned to God, and to the 
Blessed Virgin, whom he regarded as the 
protectress of those in their last agony. The 
only uneasiness he felt, arose from his ar- 
dent desire to see one of his friends con- 
verted to God. Immediately before death, 
Leander seemed to enjoy a foretaste of the 
joys of heaven. " What a happiness ! 
What a happiness !" he would exclaim. 
" What have I ever done to deserve it. I 
owe it all to the holy Virgin." In these 
sentiments he expired on the 21st of March, 
1833. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary, thou art in truth the " Seat of 
Wisdom." The Holy Ghost, the spirit of 
wisdom who overshadowed thee, and the 
Son of God, the Eternal Wisdom of the 
Father, who dwelt in thy sacred womb, and 
rested on thy holy arms, imparted to thee 
all the gifts and treasures of supernatural 



128 



MONTH OF MARY. 



wisdom. Behold me, a poor sinner, whose 
intellect is clouded by the mists of evil pas- 
sions, and who so often mistakes evil for 
good, behold me now prostrate at thy feet, 
and imploring thee to obtain for me light to 
guide my steps in this dark world. Make 
me ever docile to the inspirations of the 
Spirit of wisdom, and teach me to esteem 
more the folly of the cross than all the wis- 
dom of the world. Obtain for me a simple, 
guileless mind, and permit not that while I 
profess to be a disciple of thy divine Son, 
the true and uncreated Wisdom of the Fa- 
ther, I should be found to be influenced by 
the false maxims of the world. Make me 
always recur to thee, 0 sacred Virgin, as 
the best advocate with God to obtain 
pardon for my past perversity, in prac- 
tically contemning the only true wisdom, 
and exposing myself to the danger of 
being obliged eternally to lament my folly. 
Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Resolve to read a chapter each day in 
some pious author. The reading of a good 
book gave an Ignatius to the church ! 

ASPIRATION. 

To thee do we raise our eyes, O holy Mother 
of God. 



SIXTEENTH DAY. 



CAUSE OF OUR JOY, 

Pray for us. 
" Thou art the joy of Israel" Judith xv. 10* 

With what delight must not the heart of 
that noble woman, Judith, have expanded 
when Joachim the high-priest came from 
Jerusalem to Bethulia with all his ancients 
to see her, and said to her, in the name of 
the entire people, " Thou art the glory of 
Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou 
art the honor of our people!"- But how 
much more justly does not the church ap- 
ply these words to Mary, whom also she 
thus addresses on the festival of her Nativity: 
" Thy Nativity, 0 holy Mother of God, 
brought universal joy to the world, for from 
thee arose the Sun of Justice, Christ our 
Lord." Truly she is the "joy of the whole 
earth" in a much more perfect sense than 
Jerusalem was declared to be by the pro- 
phet. Had not God given us a Redeemer, 
how joyless would be this earth ! To every 
child of Adam it is a vale of tears; and 



130 



MONTH OF MARY. 



those who seem to enjoy most of its happi- 
ness, know by experience that all earthly 
satisfaction is vain and transitory. Were 
it not for religion, and the ennobling and 
consoling hopes it holds out to our view, the 
world would be in reality what some of the 
ancient philosophers imagined it to be, a 
place of punishment, where criminals were 
placed without any knowledge of the cause 
of their misfortune, or any means whereby 
it might be remedied. 

Jesus Christ, who came not only to give 
glory to God, but peace on earth to men of 
good will, has entirely changed our situation. 
If we feel that we are guilty children of a 
guilty parent, we know that in Him we 
have a Redeemer, who has made abundant 
satisfaction for our offences, and by means 
of whom we can become reconciled with 
God. If we suffer from the rebellion of our 
own passions, we have, in His divine grace, 
the means whereby they may be subdued. 
Without this divine aid, we might be hur- 
ried into excesses which our reason and 
conscience would condemn, but would not 
control, and which would eventually lead 
us to regard life itself as an intolerable bur- 
den. If we have to endure tribulation, 
the thought of Jesus Christ and of his hu- 
miliations, privations, and sufferings, recon- 
ciles us to our lot, and even makes us glory 
in tribulation. If we naturally recoil from 



MONTH OF MARY. 



131 



death, — from that departure out of life, which 
in itself and its consequences is so awfully 
important, — the hope of that future glory 
which the Son of Mary has purchased for 
us by his blood, more than suffices to calm 
our agitations, and make fear give way to 
hope. Truly, then, did Isaias describe the 
Messiah as the Prince of peace. While we 
pour out our hearts in gratitude to Him for 
this amelioration of our state, can we, or 
ought we, forget her, whom the church 
styles the Mother of the Prince of peace, 
and the i cause of our joy V 

While we are sensible of this truth, and 
give thanks to God for this great benefit of 
spiritual peace and joy, of which Mary is 
the cause, through the merits of her divine 
Son, let us see whether we participate in 
this good to the extent that we ought. Do 
we feel the joy of a good conscience ? Have 
we that humble hope that we have been 
washed from the defilement of sin in the 
blood of the Lamb, which the devout re- 
ception of the sacraments is calculated to 
produce ? Perhaps we have rejected these 
means of salvation ; perhaps we have 
abused them, by receiving them without the 
proper dispositions. Should this unfortu- 
nately be the case, how can we truly call 
Mary the cause of our joy, when, although 
she has given us the source of true happi- 
ness, we have not permitted its influence to 



132 



MONTH OF MARY. 



reach our souls; but have preferred the 
gloom and agitation of a troubled conscience, 
to the joy and tranquility which this Prince 
of peace would have established in them. 
Let us take the resolution to find rest for 
our souls, by applying to them the healing 
balm of a Redeemer's mercy. By regu- 
larity of life, and exactness and fervor in 
God's service, we will secure for ourselves 
the joy of a good conscience ; and thus we 
may hope to merit through Jesus Christ, a 
participation in the joys of God's kingdom 
which will never end. 

EXAMPLE. 

The Venerable Benedict Joseph Labre 
was born in the village of Amettes, near 
Boulogne-sur-mer, in France. He visited 
Italy, for the purpose of improving himself 
in the practice of virtue, and venerating the 
sacred shrines of the apostles. He made a 
pilgrimage to the Holy House at Loretto, in 
which the Mother of God dwelt while on 
earth ; and the extraordinary graces he re- 
ceived there, inspired him with a lasting 
affection for this venerated place, and made 
him repeat his visit no less than ten differ- 
ent times during the remaining years of his 
life. After this great sanctuary, that which 
he loved most, out of Rome, was the Church 



MONTH OF MARY. 



133 



of Our Lady of Hermits in the diocess of 
Constance. 

This holy man embraced a life of volun- 
tary poverty, and seems to have been des- 
tined by Providence to recall to men's 
minds the poverty of Christ. He eat noth- 
ing but the fragments which he received as 
a mendicant, and esteemed himself happy 
in suffering hunger, thirst, and all the incon- 
veniences of travelling ; for he had ever be- 
fore his eyes the mortified life of the most 
Holy Virgin. He gloried in appearing clad 
with the livery of this amiable Mother, and 
always wore a chaplet round his neck. It 
was difficult to see him pray before an im- 
age of Mary, and not feel deeply moved. 

He was often found at a very early hour 
at the gate of the church of " Our Lady of 
the Mountains" at Rome, in which, during 
the eight years of his residence in that city, 
he daily spent many hours motionless on 
his knees, more like a seraph than a mor- 
tal man. In the beginning of 1783 he con- 
secrated to the Mother of God all the 
moments of that year, which was to be his 
last. His strength daily diminished, but his 
fervor seemed to increase. On the Wed- 
nesday in holy week he went to pray at the 
gate of his favorite church of " Our Lady of 
the Mountains." He suddenly felt an ex- 
cessive languor come over him, and fainted 
on the steps of the church. He was brought 
12 



134 



MONTH OF MARY. 



into a house in the neighbourhood, whither 
some zealous religious followed him to 
administer the last consolations of religion. 
They began to pray, and at these words : 
" Holy Mary, pray for him," this faithful 
servant of Mary calmly rendered up his 
soul to God, without any appearance of 
agony. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary, what sentiments shall 1 have at 
the hour of death ? When I consider my 
sins, and think on that decisive moment, 
on which my eternal happiness or misery 
will depend, I am seized with fear and 
trembling. 0 sweet mother, in the blood 
of Jesus Christ, and in thy powerful inter- 
cession for its application to my soul, is all 
my hope. If at present I am tormented 
with remorse for my sins,— if I am uneasy 
when I consider the uncertainty of my 
having blotted them out by sincere penance, 
and am troubled at the danger of relapse; 
what will my sentiments then be ! Unless 
thou wilt assist me, I shall be lost. Obtain 
for me 0 Holy Virgin, during life, a sincere 
sorrow for my sins, and a persevering 
fidelity in the observance of God's com- 
mandments, that thus I may partake of the 
joy of a good conscience. Dispel the illu- 
sions with which the enemy of my soul 



MONTH GF MARY. 



135 



will endeavour to betray me into eternal 
misery, at the hour of my death. May thy 
name, and the name of thy divine son be 
ever on my lips, and when my tongue 
refuses to articulate them, may my dying 
heart heave with emotions of heavenly love. 
Assist me, 0 Sacred Virgin, both now, and 
in the hour of my death. May my last words 
be, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and my last 
act, an act of love of God, Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Resolve to approach the sacraments of 
penance and the holy eucharist, on ail the 
festivals of the Blessed Virgin. 

ASPIRATION. 

0 Mary, may my heart never cease to love 
thee, nor my tongue to praise thee. — St. Bon- 
aventure. 



SEVENTEENTH DAY. 



VESSEL OF HONOR, 

Pray for us. 

" This is an admirable Vessel, the icork 
of the Most High. — Eccl. xliii. 2. 

This praise is given by the inspired writer 
to that glorious luminary, the sun, from 
which this world derives life and light, by 
which the fruits of the earth are matured, 
and the earth itself made to assume a variety 
of beautiful colours. We may apply to 
Mary the same words of praise, but in a 
much more elevated sense. She is that 
most pure vessel in which the second person 
of the blessed Trinity became incarnate, and 
who, in Mary, — that is the nature he 
assumed of Mary, is the sun of justice 
which enlighteneth every man that cometh 
into the world. His grace is so necessary for 
us, that unless it develope and mature the 
seeds of goodness implanted in our hearts, 
we can never hope to bring forth fruit. 
He alone is able to produee-this effect, and 
without his divine assistance, our efforts 
are vain, according to that of the apostle : 



MONTH OP MARY. 



137 



" I have planted, Appollo watered, but God 
gave the increase. "* 

Mary is also styled a vessel of singular 
devotion, on account of the faithfulness and 
fervor, with which she discharged her devo- 
tional exercise of prayer and contemplation. 
If her divine Son spent whole nights in 
prayer, we may be satisfied that Mary did 
not cease to profit by an example, so many 
motives induce her to imitate. In fact her 
whole life was principally occupied in this 
sacred duty. While in the temple, in 
which she remained from an early age, she 
profited by all the opportunities she there 
had to commune with God by prayer. 
What was her life after she had conceived 
the Son of God, but a constant exercise of 
this holy duty, for what is prayer but the 
union of the soul with God, and surely 
Mary failed not to profit by the extraordi- 
nary opportunities she possessed of enjoying 
so high and holy a privilege. 

While celebrating the perfect piety of 
Mary, we should endeavour to profit by the 
example she has given to us. The child 
naturally imitates the mother. We are 
Mary's children, because she is the mother 
of the first born among many brethren, and 
because Jesus Christ has commended us to 
her in the person of St. John. « Woman, 



* l Cor. iii. 6. 
12* 



L38 MONTH OF MARY. 

behold thy son/'* We are then bound to 
imitate her, and had we for her the affection 
of children, we would blush not to resemble 
her in our actions. What are then our 
feelings with regard to the holy duty of 
prayer? Perhaps we find it an irksome 
obligation, rather than a delightful duty. 
Under the influence of this feeling have we 
not occasionally neglected it, or discharged 
it in a hurried and careless manner ? Why 
do we not find in prayer the consolations 
which the saints experienced? We are 
astonished when we read that they spent 
whole days and nights in prayer. Ah, we 
have not yet learned to pray as the saints 
prayed ; we have not learned to forget the 
world or ourselves when we appear before 
God ; or to concentrate our thoughts on His 
divine perfections, and inconceivable mer- 
cies. Hence we too often find in prayer 
that aridity and distraction which are the 
result of a distracted head and a divided 
heart. With the apostles, let us ask our 
Lord to teach us to pray, and employ the 
powerful intercession of Mary, to obtain for 
us this golden key, by which we may unlock 
the treasury of God's mercy. 

EXAMPLE. 

It is .not easy to read without emotion 
the narrative of the last moments of a young 

* St. John xix. 26. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



139 



person, who, during the short time she 
lived on earth, distinguished herself by 
extraordinary devotion to the Queen of 
Virgins, whose virtues she endeavoured to 
imitate. This innocent creature remained 
in an asylum, consecrated to the Mother of 
God, till her eighteenth year. Very differ- 
ent from those of her age, she looked for- 
ward with trembling anxiety to the period 
which was to restore her to her parents. 
She often cast herself at the feet of Mary, 
and besought her to procure for her a happy 
death, rather than permit her to be exposed 
to the dangers of the world, if her innocence 
would suffer by its contagious influence. 
So touching a prayer could not but be heard. 
The pious Amelia soon perceived that she 
was suffering from a malady, which grad- 
ually undermined her constitution, and 
brought her in a short time to the verge of 
the grave. Tranquility and resignation 
were the only sentiments she manifested. 
Filial love for her God had banished all 
terror. " I fear nothing," she exclaimed in 
one of her devout aspirations to Mary, " I 
fear nothing: under the protection of so 
powerful an advocate, what have I to fear 
from my Saviour ?" 

The spirit of continual prayer was her 
only support in her extreme sufferings. " I 
suffer no pain, she would say, when I 
converse with Jesus : — leave me with Jesus." 



140 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Every word that escaped her lips was 
carefully noted, especially as her end drew 
nigh. She frequently exclaimed in a firm 
voice : " Mary, show thyself to be a mother. 
During life thou hast ever been such to me. 
Do not abandon me in this decisive hour. 
Jesus, Mary, Joseph l" Taking from the 
hands of one of her companions a picture 
of the Blessed Virgin, she reverently kissed 
it, and placed it on her breast. She then 
asked for the image of her crucified Saviour, 
and approaching it to her pale lips, she 
said : " 0 My God, I adore thee," and 
expired. 

PRAYER. 

0 most holy Virgin, thou art justly called 
a spiritual and honorable vessel, because the 
Lord thy God enriched thee with the choicest 
gifts of the Holy Ghost. Thy thoughts 
Avere always great and noble, thy feelings 
holy, thy designs pure and sublime. Thou 
hadst no other ambition than to honor God, 
no other desire than to love Him, no other 
wish than to possess Him. The choicest 
gifts of nature, of grace and glory were im- 
parted to thee without measure ; whereas, 
I am nothing else than a vessel of sin and 
misery. Most pure Mother, have compas- 
sion on me ; reconcile me with thy Son, 
commend me, and present me to Him, that 
through thy intercession I may be made 



MONTH OF MARY. 



141 



partaker of His infinite merits, and never 
more seek any thing but what is divine and 
everlasting. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Resolve to dedicate, each morning, all the 
actions of the day to the greater honor and 
glory of God, Offer them through Mary to 
her Son. 

ASPIRATION. 

By thee ice have access to thy Son, 0 Mo- 
ther of our salvation. May He who was 
given to us by thee, receive us through thy 
intercession ! St. Bernard. 



EIGHTEENTH DAY, 



MYSTICAL ROSE, 

Pray for us. 

" I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, 
and as a rose plant in Jericho" Eccl. 
xxiv. 18. 

Among flowers there is none so beautiful 
as the rose, as among the daughters of Eve 
there was none so beautiful as Mary, who 
is called in the canticle " the most beautiful 
of women."* But although her external 
appearance was the image of the beauty of 
her soul, it could not fully represent it. 
" How beautiful art thou, my love," says 
Christ to her in the canticle of canticles, 
" how beautiful art thou, — thy eyes are 
dove's eyes, besides what is hid within."t 
Although her external appearance was in- 
vested with an air of sanctity, that inspired 
the beholder with the love of virtue, her in- 
ternal perfection was far superior; and the 
psalmist declares that "all the beauty of the 
king's daughter — Mary is the daughter of the 
Great King — is from within." J It was this 

* Cant. v. 9. f Cant. iv. 1. * Ps. xliv. 14. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



143 



interior beauty of perfection that rendered 
her so lovely in the sight of God ; it was 
the sweet perfume of her virtues that enti- 
tled her to the approbation of the heavenly 
King. " I gave a sweet smell," says she, 
" like cinnamon and aromatical balm. I 
yielded a sweet odour,like the best myrrh."* 
As the beauty and fragrance of the rose 
are surrounded and protected by thorns, so 
was the virtue of Mary accompanied and 
perfected by the tribulations she endured. 
Hence in the canticles it is said : " As the 
lily among thorns, so is my love among the 
daughters."t "As the rose," remarks a 
holy writer, " grows among thorns, so the 
blessed Virgin grew up and was perfected 
in tribulation. And as in proportion as the 
rose matures, in the same degree the thorns 
increase ; thus Mary, in proportion as she 
advanced in years, was tried in the ordeal 
of tribulations." How great were the trials 
to which God's providence exposed her ! 
Who can conceive what she suffered from 
the uneasiness created in the mind of Joseph^ 
by the divine mystery, which her humility 
prevented her from disclosing to this most 
affectionate spouse? Her journey to Beth- 
lehem, the trying circumstances under which 
she brought forth Jesus Christ, the flight 
into Egypt, and her residence in a strange 



* Eccl. xxiv. 20. 



f Cant. ii. 2. 



144 



MONTH OF MARY. 



country, where she had to suffer a thousand 
privations, in consequence of the poverty of 
her condition, were so many thorns by which 
God encompassed this mystical rose. On 
her return to Judea, how much must she 
have suffered while passing through Jeru- 
salem, from fear and anxiety lest the son of 
Herod should accomplish the impious de- 
sign of his deceased father, and imbrue his 
hands in the blood of the infant Messiah. 
How much did this most affectionate of all 
Mothers have to suffer when the child Jesus 
remained behind in Jerusalem, and she and 
her holy spouse sought him " sorrowing " 
for three days. As the time approached in 
which Jesus was to commence his divine 
mission and consummate the great work of 
our redemption, the most loving heart of 
Mary felt all a mother's solicitude, and all a 
mother's grief, at the foresight of what he 
was to endure. During the three years of 
His mission, every danger to which He was 
exposed, — -every attempt made upon His 
life, — every obloquy cast on Him, — was 
keenly felt by this most tender parent. 
Truly then did her sorrows increase with 
the development of her own supereminent 
virtue, which, although it sustained her 
under them, did not render them less sensi- 
ble or less afflicting. May we not then say 
to her with the spouse in the canticles; " As 



MONTH OF MARY. 



145 



the lily among thorns, so is my love among 
the daughters." 

If we are attracted by the sweet fragrance 
of Mary's virtues, we are taught by her 
character, as Mystical Rose, that tribulations 
are the lot of the most favoured servants of 
God. There is only one way to heaven, — 
that in which Jesus Christ himself has walked, 
and in which we are to follow His footsteps. 
" Ought not Christ," says He himself, " to 
suffer these things and so enter into his 
glory."* Mary, Joseph, the Apostles, and, 
in fine, all the servants of God, have passed 
through many tribulations and thus entered 
into the kingdom of heaven. This seems 
almost a necessary part of God's providence. 
Were earth the place of our permanent 
abode, we might be naturally surprized and 
afflicted at finding ourselves exposed to suf- 
fering ; but as heaven is our home, we can- 
not hope for perfect rest or satisfaction, as 
long as we are strangers and foreigners in 
a distant country. Every trial that we ex- 
perience is an act of God's mercy, by which 
He endeavours to detach us from earth and 
its frivolities, and direct our thoughts to that 
place where alone there is unalloyed joy. 
Why, then, do we wonder at this provi- 
dence of God ? Why do we repine when 
we experience it, and, not unfrequently, 



* Luke xxiv. 26. 

13 



146 



MONTH OF MARY. 



make these means of purifying our affec- 
tions, and approaching closer to God, so 
many occasions on which we manifest the 
unworthy sentiments of our hearts, and 
cause God to retire still farther from us? 
Ah, let us think on Mary, and remember 
that as her virtue is likened in the Scripture 
to myrrh, whose scent is sweet, but whose 
taste is bitter, so our humble imitation of 
her, while it diffuses around us the " good 
odour of Christ," will make us partake of 
the bitterness of His chalice. 

EXAMPLE. 

What better example can be proposed to 
the devout admirer of the Mystical Rose, 
than that of St. Stanislas Kostka, who may 
be justly styled 'the flower of holy youth/ 
This most faithful servant of Mary, after 
enduring much from the violence of an 
elder brother, contrived to elude his unjust 
vigilance, and entered the Society of Jesus. 
He died in the odour of consummate sanctity 
while yet a novice. On the first of August, 
the month in which he died, he heard a 
sermon, in which the novices were exhorted 
to spend each day as if it were to be the 
last of their lives. After the discourse was 
over, Stanislas told his companions that he 
recognized in this advice the voice of God, 
admonishing him that his death would take 
place in the course of the month : whether 



MONTH OF MARY. 



147 



it was that God had vouchsafed to make 
him an express revelation to that effect, or 
that He had given him a strong presenti- 
ment of what was to happen. His compa- 
nions seeing the perfect health of the young 
prophet, laughed at what he said, and only- 
regarded it as the expression of his desires. 
Four days afterwards Stanislas accompanied 
Father Emmanuel to the church of Santa 
Maria Maggiore, and discoursed on the way 
concerning the approaching festival of the 
Assumption. " Father," said the holy 
youth, " how beautiful will not paradise be 
on that day ! On that day the Mother of 
God is crowned Queen of heaven, and ele- 
vated above the choirs of angels ! Ah, if 
it be true that each year this festival is re- 
newed in the heavenly Jerusalem, I have 
great confidence, 0 good Mother ! that I 
shall soon behold it !" The manner in which 
he expressed these last words astonished his 
companion. 

That very evening he felt the first attack 
of a fever, which, although slight, was re- 
garded by him as a sure indication of his 
approaching end. On retiring to rest, he 
said with a transport of inexpressible joy 5 
" I will never more rise from this bed, what 
a happiness ! Death is a real blessing. Ah s 
my good Mother, thou hast obtained for 
thy unworthy child the grace of being with 
thee on the festival of thy triumph !" On 



148 



MONTH OF MARY. 



the vigil of the Assumption, the malady ap- 
peared still inconsiderable, and did not pre- 
sent any alarming symptom, but the saint 
told a lay brother that he would die on the 
following night. Shortly afterwards he be- 
came remarkably worse. The superior ran 
to his room. Stanislas begged to have the 
ground strewed with ashes, on which he 
desired to be laid, that thus he might die as 
became a penitent; his request was granted. 
He then confessed and received the holy 
Viaticum, and afterwards extreme unction, 
with sentiments of extraordinary piety. 
Sometimes he would turn his eyes to the 
crucifix, and fix them on his dying Saviour; 
at other times, he would kiss and press to 
his heart an image of Mary. One of the 
religious asked him, " Of what use are these 
beads which you have in your hand, as you 
are not able to recite them?" " They serve," 
answered the young saint, " to console me 
by reminding me of my Mother." " You 
will be still happier," answered the father, 
"in seeing her in heaven." His counte- 
nance became quite inflamed as he rallied 
his departing strength to raise his hands and 
indicate the desire with which he languished 
to behold her. Some moments after, on the 
15th of August, at the dawn of day, he 
calmly expired ; his eyes remaining fixed 
on heaven. It was only when the image 
of the Blessed Virgin was placed before 



MONTH OP MARY. 



149 



them, that, his insensibility being noticed, 
it was discovered that he had passed to her 
society in heaven. All these circumstances 
are related on the authority of many, and 
those most credible, witnesses who were 
present, and who, enchanted with so beau- 
tiful a spectacle, cried out with one voice, 
" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the 
death of his saints."* 

PRAYER. 

0 most amiable mother, thou didst please 
God from the beginning, by thy uncontami- 
nated beauty ; and by thy sanctity and 
perfection thou hast spread over the whole 
earth a beautiful odour of virtue. Thou 
art indeed a mystical rose, the joy and 
consolation of the banished children of Eve. 
Obtain for me the grace to please, every day 
more and more, thy divine Son, and by the 
innocence and holiness of my life to spread 
abroad the sweet odour of Christ in every 
place. Obtain for me also, patience under 
the inflictions of God's providence, by which 
He designs to facilitate and secure my 
salvation, but which I have but too often 
made the occasion of murmuring and repin- 
ing. May I henceforward imitate thy 
example, and be equally indifferent to 
poverty or wealth, contumely or praise, 



* Ps. cxiv. 5. 
13* 



150 



MONTH OF MARY, 



sickness or health, and only be solicitous 
for the accomplishment of the will of my 
heavenly Father. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Let not this day pass without offering to 
Mary, some act of mortification, either of 
the will, or the curiosity, or the senses, or 
the appetite. The rose of virtue must 
bloom amidst the thorns of self denial. 

ASPIRATION. 

We fly to thy patronage, O Holy Mother of 



NINETEENTH DAY. 



TOWER OF DAVID, 

Pray for us. 

" Thy neck is as the tower of David, 
which is built with bulwarks." — Cant. iv. 4. 

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower," 
says the inspired author of the book of 
Proverbs. We are here on earth, as in a 
field of battle. Our enemies are numerous 
and strong. Besides our own passions, we 
have to contend with " the spirits of wick- 
edness in high places," that is with Lucifer 
and the companions of his fall, who seek to 
involve us in their guilt and its punishment. 
When we consider how much superior to 
us in intelligence and power are these 
unhappy spirits, who once held the 
highest places in heaven, and how much 
they envy us who are destined to occupy 
the thrones of glory, which they lost by 
disobedience, we may easily conceive how 
incessant and powerful are their efforts to 
ruin us. Were we to depend on ourselves, 
we could not stand for a moment before 



* Eph. vi. 12. 



152 



MONTH OF MARY. 



them ; we would be the easy prey of their 
power, and the sport of their malignant 
intelligence. But we have the authority of 
God's word for declaring that "whoever 
shall invoke the name of the Lord shall be 
saved."* It is then by distrusting our own 
weakness, and by flying to the strong tower, 
which is God's name, that we will baffle 
the wiles, and triumph over the assaults of 
cur spiritual enemies. 

Mary is called the ' Tower of David/ 
because as Mother of the Redeemer, the son 
of David, she is to men, a tower of refuge 
from the face of the enemy. If the invoca- 
tion of the sacred name of Jesus, be suffi- 
cient to put our enemies to flight, we ought 
to remember that we cannot pronounce this 
saving name, in a manner pleasing God, 
unless assisted by his grace. We ought 
then to dread our own unworthiness, and 
seek to secure for ourselves the saving 
influence of this holy name, by the inter- 
cession of her, whose <$ neck is as the tower 
of David, which is built with bulwarks : — a 
thousand bucklers hang from it, all the 
armour of valiant men." The enemy of 
our souls flies at the mention of her name, 
because she has crushed his head, and 
because he despairs of wounding any one 
whom she defends, by opposing her buckler 



* Rom. x. 13. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



153 



to his fiery darts. Hence she is called by a 
writer, not liable to the suspicion of exag- 
gerated piety : " the terror of hell, the hope 
of Christians, and our sure protection."* 
Hence St. Bonaventure addressing her, 
says: "Thou art our sure protection, 0 
most Sacred Virgin. Under the wings of 
thy clemency do we flee : save and protect 
us." The intercession of Mary will obtain 
for us strength to resist every evil suggestion, 
every foul temptation, however violent it 
may be. Aided by such a powerful protect- 
ress, although we should walk in the midst 
of the valley of death, — that is, although we 
should find ourselves every instant exposed 
to danger, and see around us the bodies of 
our fallen brethren, — we will fear no evil, 
because she will be with us. To her, after 
God, we will gratefully ascribe the triumph 
we shall have gained over our enemies, and 
say to her, " Thou hast been a tower of 
strength against the face of the enemy."t 

Although the consideration of the ene- 
mies with whom we have to contend, — their 
number, their power, and superior skill, — 
are calculated to fill us with distrust in the 
result of the contest, we have protection in 
Mary. Courage, then, must animate us, 
and instead of fearing, we should ever des- 
pise the stratagems, and repel the open at- 

* Erasmus, Orat. ad Virginem. 
t Ps - lx - 4 - 



154 



MONTH OF MARY. 



tacks, of our enemies. But this courage, 
without which no man can hope to conquer, 
must be regulated by prudence. Mary will 
protect us, in all the dangers which befall 
us in the order of Providence ; but she will 
not protect us if we expose ourselves to the 
danger we ought to shun, and act rather 
from the impulse of self-confidence, than 
from the dictates of duty. God himself is 
not pledged to protect us in such circum- 
stances ; it is our weakness and not our pre- 
sumption that he has promised to assist. 
Mary, then, will not be a £ Tower of David" 
to us, if we rashly expose ourselves to dan- 
ger, by reading bad or dangerous books, 
by frequenting the society of those whose 
bad example is likely to corrupt our morals, 
or by unnecessary intimacy with others, 
whose principles may pervert us, or whose 
tepidity may chill the ardor of our zeal for 
the service of God. If we have frequently 
received wounds from our spiritual enemies, 
it is because we have neglected to shield 
ourselves with the protection of Mary, or 
because we acted on the erroneous idea, that 
that protection would be unconditionally af- 
forded to us. Salutary regret for the past, 
must be united with cautious vigilance for 
the future, that thus we may prove ourselves 
good soldiers of Jesus Christ, and having 
" fought the good fight and kept the faith," 
we may be entitled to receive from him the 



MONTH OF MARY. 



155 



unfading crown of glory which he has prom- 
ised to bestow on those who have over- 
come. 

Example. 

We T can have no better illustration of the 
protecting powers of Mary than that afforded 
by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who from being 
a soldier of the world, became a valiant 
champion of Christian faith and piety. This 
saint, whom Providence raised up in most 
dangerous times, to be the founder of the 
Society of Jesus, and thereby the instrument 
of so much good in the church, Ascribed his 
conversion, and the other graces he received 
from God to the intercession of Mary. 
While recovering from the effects of a 
wound he had received at Pampeluna, 
which he had bravely defended, he con- 
ceived the design of dedicating himself to 
God, being moved thereunto by the reading 
of the lives of Christ and the saints. He 
offered himself first to Mary, and most ear- 
nestly besought her to present and recom- 
mend him to her divine Son. As he was 
one night kneeling before her image, and 
with tears imploring her to be his protec- 
tress, the holy Virgin with her divine Son 
appeared to him, and this vision produced 
the most extraordinary change in his inte- 
rior. His heart was entirely changed, and 



156 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Ignatius, who had hitherto suffered much 
from impure thoughts, found himself ever 
afterwards delivered from them. A man 
of so noble a character as Ignatius could 
not be content with an imperfect conversion, 
and he resolved to dedicate himself entirely 
to God's service. As soon as his wound 
was healed he left his father's house with 
the view of abandoning the world. He went 
to Montserrat, where there was a celebra- 
ted image of Mary much venerated by all 
Spain. As he journeyed along, he thought 
he could not do any thing more likely to 
render himself worthy to appear before the 
Mother of God, than to make a vow of per- 
fect continence. When he arrived at the 
church he made a general confession, which 
occupied him three days, and which he was 
forced frequently to interrupt by the excess 
of his grief for having offended God. After 
the manner of the old knights, he hung up 
his sword at the altar of the Blessed Virgin, 
to signify that in future he would only serve 
her divine Son, and remained the whole 
night in the church, watching and praying. 
When he meditated the establishment of his 
new Society, he chose one of the principal 
festivals of Mary to commence the good 
work. He and his companions made their 
vows on the festival of her Assumption in 
the chapel of Our Lady at Montmartre, 
near Paris, and annually renewed them on 



MONTH OP MARY. 



157 



the same day. He constantly carried about 
with him a picture of the Mother of God, 
and in all difficulties and undertakings had 
recourse to her intercession. He was care- 
ful to inspire all his disciples with a tender 
devotion to this Virgin Mother, that thus 
they might be assisted by her protection in 
all their difficult undertakings. One day as 
Father Araoz, his relative, on taking leave 
of him, manifested great regret at the sepa- 
ration ; Ignatius, to console him, presented 
him with an image of the holy Virgin, 
which he had borne round his neck, and as- 
sured him, that in all dangers of soul and 
body, he had constantly experienced the 
protection of Mary. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary, Tower of David, be thou my 
protectress in the fierce struggle with the 
enemies of my soul. I have been for a long 
time a miserable slave of Satan ; but now I 
renounce . him, and dedicate myself to thy 
service, to honor and serve thee all the days 
of my life. Accept of me, and do not reject 
me, as I merit. O Mother of mercy, in thee 
do 1 place full confidence ; through thee do 
I hope to obtain all grace. I bless and re- 
turn thanks to God for having inspired me 
with these feelings towards thee, which I 
regard as a pledge of my salvation. Alas! 
14 



158 



MONTH OF MARY. 



hitherto I have been conquered, because I 
did not recur to thee. Now I hope by the 
merits of Jesus Christ, and through thy in- 
tercession, to obtain pardon for my past 
weakness, and courage and strength to 
contend, even to the last, for the prize of eter- 
nal life. But I may unfortunately relapse. 
My enemies are not destroyed. How many 
new temptations have I yet to overcome! 
Ah, Most powerful Virgin, protect me, and 
suffer me not to be ever again vanquished. 
I know that with thy assistance I shall con- 
quer ; but I fear lest I should neglect to 
invoke it. Ah, dear Mother, obtain for me 
then this grace, that I may always invoke 
thee in the hour of peril ; and that my heart 
and tongue may say : " Mary, shew thyself 
a mother, and suffer me not to lose my God 
by sin ! Amen." 

practice. 

Resolve carefully to avoid all occasions 
of sin. The man who presumes, will cer- 
tainly fall. It is better to fly a thousand 
times, than be once overcome. 

ASPIRATION. 

Be to tiSy O Mart}) a tower of strength 
against the face of the enemy! 



TWENTIETH DAY. 



TOWER OF IVORY, HOUSE OF GOLD, 

Pray for us. 

" Solomon made a great throne of ivory and 
covered it with the most pure gold." 3 Kings 
x. 18. 

Solomon was a glorious type of Christ. 
He was a prince of peace, as his name im- 
ports, and, as such, represented Christ, who 
was the prince of peace, because he came 
not to give peace to one nation, but to im- 
part it to all men. This peace is not merely 
an immunity from external aggression, but 
that internal "peace of God which surpasses 
all understanding," — an enduring peace 
which no external violence can disturb, as 
long as the soul is willing to retain it. The 
temple which Solomon built, and which, 
by its magnificence and grandeur, rendered 
Jerusalem the "joy of the whole earth," was 
an expressive figure of that church which 
Jesus Christ established. This is truly the 
"joy of the whole earth" by its universal 
diffusion, by being enriched with all the 
treasures of grace and sanctity; and, unlike 



160 



MONTH OF MARY. 



the figure, is destined to survive all the 
efforts of the enemies of God's people. The 
throne on which Solomon sat, had special 
reference to Christ, who inherited the throne 
of David his father through Mary, whose 
virtues are not inaptly signified by the pure 
ivory of which it was made, and the most 
pure gold with which it was overlaid. 

The church applies to the blessed Virgin 
the words of the Canticle of Canticles, " Thy 
neck is as a tower of ivory which is thus 
explained by St. Bernardine of Sienna. 
" Vivifying graces are conveyed from Christ 
the head, through the Virgin, to the other 
members of his mystical body." St. Paul 
expressly declares that we are all members 
of a mystical body, of which the head is 
Christ. As among the members of this 
mystical body, the Blessed Virgin is, after 
Christ, the most exalted, so she is well com- 
pared to the " tower of ivory," to which the 
neck of the spouse in the Canticles is likened; 
especially as it is through her, according to 
the opinion of many holy doctors, that God 
has decreed to convey to the members of 
this mystical body, the graces which are 
necessarily derived from Christ, who is the 
head. The holy Abbot Rupert says of 
Mary : "As a tower of ivory, she is beloved 
by God, and terrible to the demon." On 
account of her spotless purity, which not 
even the shadow of imperfection ever sullied, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



161 



and which is well represented by the white- 
ness of ivory, she pleases God. On the 
same account, as also because she is the 
channel of God's grace to men, she is terri- 
ble to the devil, the ancient serpent, whose 
poisonous bite she never experienced, and 
whose head she not only crushed by bring- 
ing forth the Redeemer, but whom she con- 
tinues to overcome by her wonderful influ- 
ence in the application of the Redeemer's 
merits to the souls of men. 

The ivory throne of Solomon was over- 
laid with most pure gold* Gold is taken 
by the holy fathers as the symbol of charity ; 
for as gold is the most precious of the metals, 
so charity is the most precious of the virtues; 
and as gold is distinguished from the other 
metals by its peculiar brightness, so charity 
shines out conspicuous as the queen of vir- 
tues. Adopting, then, the mystical interpre- 
tation of the text, Mary resembled the throne 
of Solomon not only by her immaculate pu- 
rity, represented by the ivory, but also in 
consequence of her supereminent charity, 
represented by the glittering gold. As char- ' 
ity is the love of God, and as God is loved in 
proportion as He manifests Himself to crea- 
tures and imparts to them His grace, we 
can form no conception of Mary's perfec- 
tion in this regard that will not fall far short 
of the reality. " Mary," says Albert the 
Great, <*was a golden temple of charity." 
14* 



162 



MONTH OF MART. 



St. Thomas of Aquin, one of the most exact 
and profound divines that ever wrote, says 
that " as there was nothing in the temple 
that was not covered with gold, so there was 
nothing in Mary that was not replete with 
sanctity." Mary, then, was that mystical 
house, which " wisdom built for itself," and 
which, as it was a house prepared not for 
man but for God, was adorned with all the 
perfection of charity, and thus rendered a 
suitable abode for Him "who is Charity"* 
itself. Mary, as the "Tower of Ivory," 
teaches us that we should avoid every im- 
perfection, and much more every sin, and 
exhibits to us the wonderful power God has 
given to the greatest weakness, because uni- 
ted with the most perfect innocence. As the 
" House of Gold" she inculcates to us the 
necessity of charity, without which we can- 
not hope that our souls can become the 
throne of God, or that we ourselves will be 
admitted into the temple of His glory, where 
immunity from defilement will not entitle 
us to enter, unless our hearts be overlaid 
with the gold of charity. Our hearts must 
glow with this divine virtue, if we hope to 
take our place with Mary and all the inhab- 
itants of the heavenly Jerusalem, who see 
Him because they love, and in seeing Him 
are blessed. 



* St. John iv. 16. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



163 



EXAMPLE. 

St. Philip of Neri was one of the greatest 
ornaments of the church in the sixteenth 
century, and by his wonderful zeal for the 
promotion of God's glory in the city of 
Rome, he procured for himself the title of 
the apostle of that holy city. His youth was 
distinguished by innocence and piety ; and 
among his other virtues his devotion to the 
Mother of God was particularly remarkable. 
As he advanced in years, his piety increased ; 
his love for Mary was so great, that he 
had her name almost always in his mouth, 
and incessantly labored to promote her 
honor among men. No child had ever so 
tender an affection for his mother as Philip 
had for Mary, whom he called his love, his 
joy, his consolation. He spoke these words 
with so much feeling and unction, that those 
who heard him were usually much affected, 
and not unfrequently were moyed to tears. 
He often spent whole nights in prayer, and 
in his addresses to the Holy Virgin, he 
spoke with as much confidence and fervor 
as if she were actually present. He often 
was favored with supernatural visions of 
this celestial queen ; one of which, which oc- 
curred when he was advanced in years, is 
particularly remarkable. He lay danger- 
ously sick, and his physicians had little 



164 



MONTH OF MARY. 



hopes of his recovery. He was heard to cry 
out. on a sudden, " 0 most holy Mother ! 

0 most amiable Mother ! 0 most beautiful 
Mother ! 0 most blessed Mother !" The 
physicians and some clergymen ran to him, 
and found him elevated somewhat from the 
bed in which he lay, and heard him say, 
" 0 my dearest Queen, I am not worthy, — 

1 do not deserve that thou shouldst come to 
visit and to heal me. What shall I do for 
thee if thou healest me, for I have never 
done any thing good." Amazed at what 
they saw and heard, some wept for joy ; 
others trembled with fear. The physician 
asked him what he wished for ; to whom 
he replied : " Have you not seen the holy 
Virgin who has come to take away my ail- 
ments?" While he spoke thus, he came to 
himself, and as he perceived that the room * 
was full of people, he covered his head 
through shame, and began to weep. The 
physicians, fearing that this might injure 
him, begged him to desist, and asked to feel 
his pulse. " I do not require your assistance 
any longer," replied the saint; "the most 
holy Virgin has been here and has restored 
me." They found him in fact perfectly 
restored ; and on the following morning he 
rose as usual and applied himself to his ac- 
customed occupations, without suffering any 
inconvenience. The holy man said always 
to those who visited him: "Believe me, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



165 



there is no more powerful means to obtain 
God's grace, than to employ the interces- 
sions of the holy Virgin. Say to her often : 
6 Virgin Mary, Mother of God, pray to thy 
dear Jesus for me.' " On another occasion 
this great Saint experienced the efficacy of 
Mary's intercession in a very extraordinary 
manner. His new church was being built. 
Philip sent in great hurry one day for the 
architect, and ordered him to take off the 
roof from an old building, which would 
have fallen in the preceding night, had not 
the Blessed Virgin sustained it. And in 
fact, when the workmen came, and exam- 
ined the building, they found that the beams 
which sustained the roof had fallen out of 
their places, and that the whole remained 
suspended in the air, without any visible 
support. The Saint felt peculiar pleasure 
in visiting l£e church of St. Maria Maggi- 
ore, and he recommended nothing more fre- 
quently to his disciples, than love and devo- 
tion to the holy Virgin. He procured for 
many persons extraordinary favors through 
Mary, by causing them to recite the prayer, 
" Virgin Mary, Mother of God, pray to thy 
Jesus for me." Sometimes he added : 
" pray to thy Son Jesus for me a sinner." 
Often he repeated these words, " Virgin and 
Mother," and said that they expressed all 
the greatness and dignity of Mary, and had 
a great efficacy in obtaining God's graces. 



166 



MONTH OF MARY, 



Had we such a tender confiding love for 
Mary, as that with which this great saint 
was animated, how many graces would we 
not receive through her hands, to whom the 
church applies the words : " In me is all the 
grace of the way and of the truth ; in me is 
all hope of life and of virtue ?"* 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary I acknowledge thee to be the 
most noble, the most sublime, the most 
pure, the most beautiful, the most holy, and 
the most amiable of all creatures. Ah ! 
would that all mortals knew thee and loved 
thee as thou dost deserve :but I am consoled 
when I reflect ©n the great number of holy 
souls who serve and love thee on earth, and: 
are enamoured with thy goodness and 
surpassing beauty in heaven. Above all I 
rejoice, and congratulate with thee, that 
God loves thee above all men and angels 
united. O most amiable mother, I, although 
a miserable sinner, presume to love thee : 
but alas, my love is too faint, I would wish 
to love thee more tenderly, and this is the 
favor I have to ask of thee : because to love 
thee, is a great means of loving God, since 
thou dost not fail to procure for those who 
love and serve thee, that great grace of 



* Eccl. xxiv. 25. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



167 



loving their Creator with their whole heart 
here below, that thus they may be worthy 
to see, love, and enjoy Him in heaven. 0 
Mary, obtain for me a heart inflamed with 
the love of God: and take from me this 
hardened heart, which has hitherto resisted 
all the attractions of his love. Thou art the 
mother of holy love ; be thou now my 
advocate with God, that "neither death, 
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor 
any other creature shall be able to separate 
me from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord."* AmeiL 

PRACTICE. 

Recite the acts of Faith, Hope and Cha- 
rity to day, in honor of Mary, and make 
this one of the devotions which you will 
resolve to practise in her honor. 

ASPIRATION. 

O Mary, by the love thou didst bear to 
Jesus Christ, help me to love him. — S. Brigid, 



* Rom. viii* 38, 39, 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY. 



ARK OF THE COVENANT. 

Pray for us. 

" Josue rent his garments and fell flat on 
the ground before the ark of the Lord.'" — 
Jos. vii. 6. 

When the children of Israel were jour- 
neying through the desert, after having 
# "been delivered from the bondage of Egypt, 
God commanded them, among other things, 
to make an ark. This was to be the visible 
■ emblem of His presence among them, and 
from the propitiatory, or lid which was 
suspended over the ark, without however 
closing it up, He gave answers to Moses.* 
The ark was made of setim wood, and 
overlaid both in the inside and outside with 
most pure gold. This ark was the most 
holy thing among the Jews. It was placed 
in the tabernacle, within the sanctuary or 
6 holy of holies — it was concealed by a 
veil not only from the sight of the people, 



* Exod. xxv. 22. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



169 



but also from the priests, according to the 
commandment of God, and it was only on 
the solemn day of 6 expiation/ that the 
high priest was allowed to enter the sanc- 
tuary in which it was placed. When the 
tabernacle was set up, and consecrated, the 
glory of the Lord filled it,* so that not even 
Moses could enter into it. A cloud hung 
over the tabernacle by day, and a fire by 
night. When it removed from the taber- 
nacle, the children of Israel went forward ; 
if it hung, suspended over the tabernacle, 
they remained in the same place. t The 
ark contained a vessel filled with the manna 
by which the children of Israel were mira- 
culously fed for forty years in the desert. 
" When the ark was lifted up, Moses said : 
Arise 0 Lord, and let thy enemies be scat- 
tered, and let them that hate thee flee from 
before thy face. " J 

A pious and learned interpreter of the 
Holy Scriptures § says : "The ark containing 
the manna, that is Christ, is the Blessed 
Virgin, who causes us to overcome both 
men and demons." Mary is then called the 
" ark of the covenant," because she was the 
tabernacle of God with men ; for not only 
the glory 'of the Lord filled her, but the 
Lord of glory himself assumed human 



* Exod. xl. 32. 
f Exod. Ix. 32, 36. 
15 



\ Numb. x. 35. 

§ Cornelius a Lapide. 



170 



MONTH OF MARY. 



nature of her, and abode for nine months in 
her sacred womb. If then the Jews were 
commanded to reverence the ark ; — and if 
God manifested by so many extraordinary 
wonders, how jealous he was of the honor 
of this symbol of his presence with his 
people, how much more are not all chris- 
tians bound to honor and reverence her, — 
whose relation to the Deity is infinitely 
more intimate than was that which the 
Jewish ark of the covenant bore to him. 
Shall not we then reverence Mary as Josue 
reverenced the ark when he fell down 
before it.* In either case the Majesty of 
God is the ultimate object of our veneration. 
If we pay peculiar homage to Mary, this 
mystical ark of the better covenant, it is 
because God Himself has honored her, and 
because He is infinitely more jealous of the 
honor due to her, whom he made the 
mother of his consubstantial son, than he 
was of the honor paid to the ancient ark 
which was only a mere symbol of his 
presence. If of every faithful soul, he 
says; "he who touches thee, touches the 
apple of my eye," how much more severely 
will he punish any positive irreverence, or 
want of becoming respect towards her, who, 
alone of all creatures, bears to Him the 
endearing and influential relation of Mother. 



* Jos. vii. 6. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



171 



The Bethsemites were struck dead for ir- 
reverently looking at the ark, and Oza for 
stretching out his hand to sustain it, through 
a momentary forgetfulness of the power of 
Him who filled it. How much more reason 
have those to fear the death of their souls, 
who treat with indifference, and sometimes 
with positive disrespect, the Holy Mother of 
God ! Ah ! we may be assured, that were 
it not for the powerful intercession of this 
most patient Mother, who has learned from 
her Divine Son to pray for those who perse- 
cute her, God would visit with exemplary 
severity the awful temerity, which trifles 
with what He has made most holy and 
venerable. 

Mary is the " ark of the covenant," be- 
cause like that glorious type, she is our pro- 
tection and our defence. When the ark 
passed over the Jordan, the waters were 
dried up.* What, can we oppose to the tor- 
rent of human custom, which, as St. Au- 
gustin says, hurries down the unhappy 
children of Adam to the infernal abyss, any 
thing more powerful than the intercession 
of Mary ? After the ark was borne round 
the walls of Jericho in solemn procession 
for seven days, these strong bulwarks by 
which the enemies of God's people hoped 
to turn away the chastisement God was 



Jos. ch. iii. 



172 



MONTH OF MARY, 



about to inflict on them fell to the ground. 
We may be assured that no matter how for- 
midable are the difficulties we have to sur- 
mount in the attainment of any object con- 
nected with the promotion of God's glory, we 
will overcome them by bearing about with us 
this mystic ark, — by looking for assistance to 
Mary. We read in the scripture that as 
long as the ark remained in the house of 
Obededom, God blessed him and his house- 
hold.* Let us bring Mary into our hearts 
by banishing from them whatever may dis- 
please her Divine Son, and cherishing a 
tender devotion towards her, by making 
her, after God, the principal object of our 
affections, and we will find by experience, 
that the faithful servant of this holy Virgin 
will be enabled to say both in time and 
in eternity, " all good things came to me 
together with her and innumerable riches 
through her hands."t 

EXAMPLE. 

If devotion to the Mother of God is suit- 
able and profitable for all conditions and 
relations of life, it is especially so for youth, 
whom it inspires with the greatest aversion 
to vice, and while it holds up before them 
the model of every virtue, procures for them 



* 2 Kings, vii. ii. f Wisdom, vii. ii. 



MONTH OF MARY. 173 

the protection and assistance of this good 
and powerful Virgin Mother. Among 
many who have experienced this, St. Fran- 
cis Regis is particularly conspicuous. He 
was born in 1597 in the diocess of Nar- 
bonne in France. From his earliest child- 
hood he had been taught to entertain a 
tender devotion to the Mother of God. To 
sustain and exercise this feeling of piety, as 
also to enjoy its benefits on a more exten- 
sive scale, he eagerly sought to be admitted 
into a confraternity which had for a special 
object to honor Mary. As soon' as he at- 
tained this wish, he believed himself bound 
thereby to aspire after greater perfection. 
No one showed a more determined resolu- 
tion to regulate his life by the rules of the 
confraternity than the youthful Francis. He 
increased his prayers and devotional exer- 
cises ; he approached the sacraments more 
frequently ; and he redoubled his exertions 
to attain perfection in all his words and 
actions, in order to merit the approbation 
of God and of his Holy Mother. When he 
afterwards entered into the Society of Jesus, 
his devotion to Mary received a new im- 
pulse. When in school he profited by every 
opportunity by means of exhortation, instruc- 
tion and prayer, to communicate to others the 
love of Mary, with which his own heart was 
inflamed. It was however in the missions 
to which he heroically devoted himself, and 
15* 



174 



MONTH OF MARY. 



in which he spent the last ten years of his 
life that he manifested in a special manner 
his devotion to the Mother of God, and im- 
parted his own feelings to the faithful who 
heard his instructions. He placed all his 
apostolic undertakings under the powerful 
protection of Mary ; he ever had her name 
in his mouth, and was always zealous for 
the promotion of her honor. In all dangers 
or distress, he fled to her for assistance and 
relief. He recommended himself to her 
patronage in all his instructions and exhor- 
tations. His indefatigable zeal to gain souls 
for Jesus, and his fidelity and love for Mary, 
merited for him to behold the Mother and 
the Son at his last hour, who came to assist 
him in his final combat, and conduct his 
soul to the happiness of heaven. Enrap- 
tured at the sight, Francis cried out to his 
companion with exultation : " I see Jesus 
and Mary who come to meet me, and bring 
me to heaven, ah, brother, what a happi- 
ness; how contented I die !" Saying this 
he expired. — What a happiness indeed, to 
have Jesus and Mary, assist us in our last 
moments : but this favor will only be granted 
to those who during life have served them 
faithfully. 

PRAYER. 

O holy Virgin, thou hast more claims on 



MONTH OF MARY. 



175 



our veneration than even the ark of the 
covenant had on that of the Jewish people. 
In thy virginal womb was the true manna 
of our souls, Jesus Christ, conceived : in thee 
was the covenant of God's mercy to man 
consummated. Full of holy awe at thy in- 
conceivable dignity, I cast myself before 
thee, and implore thee, that as God formerly 
spoke from the ark, so he would now speak 
peace to my soul through thee. Obtain for 
me pardon for the innumerable violations 
of His covenant, of which I have been 
guilty, and the grace to be henceforward a 
faithful observer of all its holy obligations. 
And as the leaders of God's people were 
accustomed to consult the ark, in all their 
difficulties, and followed the mysterious 
cloud which hung over it, so do I resolve to 
fly to thee in all my doubts and dangers : 
be thou to me a light to guide my steps, 
and conduct me to the true land of promise, 
the Paradise of my God, where with thee 
I may praise Him for an endless eternity. 
Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Excite within you a great reverence for 
Mary, and avoid every thing that would 
indicate a want of due respect. Always 
remember that although Mary be a creature, 
she is infinitely superior to all other crea- 



176 



MONTH OF MARY. 



tures. They are the servants of God : She 
is His Mother. 

aspiration. 

Hail, Daughter of God the Father ! Hail, 
Mother of God the Son ! Hail spouse of the 
Holy Ghost! Hail, Temple of the most Holy 
Trinity ! — Simon Garcia. 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY. 



GATE OF HEAVEN, 

Pray for us. 

" This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall 
enter into it." Psalm cxvii. 20. 

Mary is the "Gate of heaven," because by 
her God descended to man ; because by her 
man ascends to God. The Eastern gate 
spoken of by Ezechiel,* and through which 
the Lord the God of Israel passed, is under- 
stood by St. Jerome to have prefigured the 
Blessed Virgin through whom the Son of 
God entered into this world by being made 
flesh in her sacred womb. This is, says this 
great doctor of the church, " that Eastern 
gate through which the Sun of justice, and 
our High Priest according to the order of 
Melchisedeck enters and comes out." 

By her it was that God appeared among 
men and was found in appearance like to 
man. Such was the reverence paid to the 
gate of the temple through which the Lord 
God of Israel entered, — that is through 
which the ark which was a symbol of Him 



* Ezech, xliv. 1. 



178 



MONTH OF MARY. 



was brought into the tempi e, that it ever 
after remained closed, lest any one should 
pass through it, and render the way which 
God had sanctified common, as every other 
way through which men pass. With how 
much more reverence should not we look 
up to Mary, through whom Jesus Christ 
came into this world ! The church applies 
these words of the S6th Psalm to the Blessed 
Virgin. "The Lord loves' the gates of 
Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob." 
Ah let us reverence and Love Mary above 
all other creatures, how high and holy they 
may be, and let us be convinced, that these 
feelings will always be inadequate to express 
our obligations to her, for the great benefit 
we have received through her from God. 

Mary is called the gate of heaven, be- 
cause by her, man ascends to God. In 
giving us Jesus Christ, whose name is the 
only one " under heaven, given to men 
whereby we may be saved,"* She has 
supplied us with the mystic ladder on which 
we may ascend to heaven. She is also the 
gate of heaven because she is most power- 
ful in obtaining for sinners repentance, and 
perseverance for the just. At the close of 
life, when we are as it were on the threshold 
of eternity, " then, says St. Jerome, Mary 
not only comes to us when called, but even 



* Acts. iv. 12. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



179 



spontaneously advances to meet us."* The 
church evidently considers her to be the 
gate of heaven, or as some holy writers 
express it, the dispensatrix of God's graces, 
on account of her extensive influence in their 
distribution. Hence the church, in all her 
solemn appeals to God, as well in the tre- 
mendous mysteries, in which she offers up 
the mystic lamb that was slain from the be- 
ginning of the world, as in the praises which, 
like David, she gives seven times each day 
to God, — she never omits to accompany her 
own prayers by an appeal to Mary, for her 
intercession. After the divine prayer com- 
posed by Christ himself, there is no form of 
supplication which she recommends more 
earnestly, or which is more universally 
practised, than the angelical salutation. In 
it her children knock daily at this gate of 
heaven, that through it they may receive all 
graces during life, and at the hour of death, 
may enter by it into paradise. " By thee, 
says St. Augustin, do — the wretched, obtain 
mercy— the ungrateful, grace — sinners, par- 
don, — the weak, great things, — the earthly, 
heavenly goods, — mortals^ life^and pil- 
grims, their country." 

We should accompany our reflections on 
Mary's privilege of being the ' Gate of 
heaven/ through which the just shall enter, 

* Hieron. ep. % ad Eustoch, 



ISO 



MONTH OF MARY. 



by an examination of ourselves. Are we 
deserving of the character of ' just/ which 
can alone entitle us to pass through this 
heavenly gate? Like the foolish virgins 
mentioned in the gospel, have we not let 
the lamp of our justice, which should have 
shined before men, grow dim, or perhaps 
become entirely extinguished, by our neglect 
to supply it with the oil of good works ? It 
is true that if at our last hour we apply to 
this most prudent Virgin, she will not 
refuse, lest by sharing with us she should 
expose herself to the danger dreaded by 
the prudent Virgins mentioned in the 
gospel. For, says Hugh of St. Victor; 
"she bears in the person of her son, an 
overflowing and exhaustless vessel, from 
whose oil the lamps of all may be lit." 
Still we should fear lest, even Mary should 
not then interpose her prayers for us, if 
during life, we have habitually neglected to 
profit by them. We know that God him- 
self in punishment of our refusal to accept 
his invitation to repentance, has declared 
that those who treat Him thus unworthily 
will call on Him, in their distress, and that 
He will not hear them. Mary then, who 
is ever submissive to the orders of His 
providence, may turn away from us her 
maternal eyes, or what is more likely, the 
recollection of our past ingratitude, and the 
suggestions of the enemy of our souls will 



MONTH OF MARY, 



181 



deprive us of all hope of obtaining her 
intercession, and prevent us from pronounc- 
ing that sweet name, which would obtain 
for us the grace of repentance. Confidence 
in the efficacy of her intercession, should 
inspire us with hope when we repent ; it 
would be presumption to make it the occa.- 
sion of our continuing in guilt. 

EXAMPLE. 

St. Charles Borromeo had the most lively 
and tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. 
Besides reciting daily on his knees, the 
rosary and office of this glorious Queen, he 
fasted on bread and water on the Vigils of 
her feasts. If he happened to be in the 
street, when the bell tolled for the Angelus, 
he never failed to kneel down, even in un- 
favourable weather. He had in his cathe- 
dral a chapel and confraternity of the rosary, 
and established a solemn procession on the 
first Sunday of each month in Her honor. 
He placed all his institutions under Her pro- 
tection, and established the custom in his 
diocess of honoring the name of Mary 
whenever it was heard. He caused an 
image of the Mother of God to be placed at 
the entrance of all parish churches under his 
jurisdiction, to admonish the people that if 
they would enter into heaven, they should 
implore her intercession, whom the church 
styles the « Gate of Heaven/' 
16 



182 



MONTH OF MARY. 



PRAYER. 

0 most Holy Virgin ! Eve had closed 
on us the gates of heaven by her dis- 
obedience ; by thy obedience thou hast 
opened them to us. By thee did the Son of 
God come down from heaven : by thee has 
the light of this true Son of justice arisen on 
man. Through thee do our prayers ascend 
to God, and by thy means do His faithful 
servants enter on their eternal rest. Thou 
art indeed a gate of heaven, through which 
we enter our heavenly country. Pray for 
me then, an exile from my true home. I am 
not worthy to hope for heaven, after having 
so often deserved hell, through my sins. 
Thou art my hope and help, Obtain for me 
then the grace of conversion, and persever- 
ance in good, that thus I may be of the 
number of those happy just, who by thee 
enter into the kingdom of God's glory. 
Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

On this day beg of Mary with peculiar 
earnestness to procure for you the grace of 
a happy death. It is a most salutary prac- 
tice of pious christians to set apart one day 
in each month, in which they make a 
preparation for death. If circumstances 
prevent you from adopting this practice, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



183 



you can at least have no difficulty when 
preparing for the sacraments, to make the 
thought of death influence you in a particu- 
lar manner once a month. " Blessed is the 
man/' says the devout A. Kempis, " that 
has always death before his eyes, and every 
day disposes himself to die." 

ASPIRATION. 

Open to us the gate of mercy, 0 Holy 
Mother of God. — S. John of Damascus. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY. 



MORNING STAR. 

Pray for us. 

"I am the root and stock of David, the bright 
and morning star" — Apoc. xxii. 16. 

These words were spoken by our Divine 
Saviour to St. John, at the conclusion of 
that series of wonderful visions which were 
exhibited to the beloved disciple, and which 
are recorded by him in the book o r 
Apocalypse. They may be applied to 
Mary, as we find the same expression 
made use of by the inspired writer of the 
book of Ecclesiasticus, to designate the vir- 
tue of Simon the high priest. " He shone 
in his days as the morning star in the midst 
of a cloud."* Christ says, " that to him who 
has overcome, He will -give the morning 
star."t Hence, as according to St. Paul, 
"Star differeth from star in glory,";): the 
same epithet may be applied to two persons 
in very different senses. Jesus Christ is the 
root and stock of David — the bright and 
morning star, because he arose on men who 



* Eccl. L 6. f Apoc. ii. 28. * 1 Cor. xv. 41 . 



MONTH OF MARY. 



185 



were buried in darkness and the shadow of 
death ; and because his coming is the pre- 
lude of that full manifestation of God's 
glory, which will be made to the faithful 
soul in heaven. Mary is called the bright 
and morning star, because she preceded the 
rising of the Sun of Eternal Justice; because 
her appearance among men was hailed by 
all the sons of God, as the pledge that He 
had not forgotten his ancient mercies, and 
that he was about to give the Redeemer 
who had been so long and so anxiously 
expected. Hence the inspired writer of 
the Canticle of Canticles, asks : "Who is she 
that cometh forth as the morning, rising fair 
as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as 
an army set in array ?"* 

"Mary/' says St. Thomas of Aquinas, " is 
called the star of the sea, for as those who 
sail on the ocean are directed to the port 
they seek, by observing the stars, so Chris- 
tians are directed to glory by Mary." We 
are, in this world, as mariners on a tempes- 
tuous sea. We are steering for the port of 
heaven, and are in danger of striking on the 
hidden rocks with which the world abounds, 
and which are most to be feared when it 
presents to us a calm and unruffled ap- 
pearance, or when we approach the term of 
our course. We are exposed every mo- 



* Cant. vi. 9. 
16* 



186 



MONTH OF MARY. 



ment to perish in the abyss of waters over 
which we pass, in which so many of our 
fellow creatures have been engulphed, and 
whose treacherous surface retains no trace 
of the wrecks that have often drifted on it, 
and looks as tranquil as if it had never 
heard the shrieks of those who have perilled 
and lost an eternity on its faith. " Mary," 
says St. Bernard, " is that bright star of 
Jacob, whose ray enlightens the whole 
world, whose splendor shines conspicuous 
in heaven, and penetrates hell. It pervades 
the fe earth and warms — not the body but 
the soul, banishing vice and maturing 
virtue. For she is that bright and splendid 
star, elevated above this vast and spacious 
sea, who glitters by her merits and enlight- 
ens by her example. If you find yourself, 
tossed about by storms and tempests in the 
current of this world, turn not away your 
eyes from the brightness of this star, unless 
you wish to be overwhelmed by its waves. 
If the winds of temptation arise; if you 
strike on the rock of tribulation — look up to 
this star, call on Mary. If you are tossed 
about by the swellings of pride or ambi- 
tion, of envy or detraction, — look up to this 
star, call on Mary. If anger, or avarice, 
or concupiscence, agitate the bark of your 
mind, — turn to Mary. When affrighted at 
the enormity of your crimes, or confounded 
at the defilements of your conscience, or ter- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



187 



rified with the dread of the future judgment, 
you feel yourselves about to be involved in 
the whirlpool of despondency, or engulphed 
in the abyss of despair,— thinK on Mary. In 
dangers, in difficulties and doubts, think on 
Mary, and invoke her. Let her name never 
depart from your mouth or heart ; and that 
you may obtain the benefit of her interces- 
sion, forget not to imitate the example of her 
life. In following her you, cannot go astray; 
in appealing to her, you cannot despair; and 
in thinking on her, you cannot wander. 
While she supports you, you cannot fall ; 
while she protects you, you cannot fear ; 
while she guides you, you cannot feel fa- 
tigue; and if she be propitious, you will 
arrive in safety." 

The spouse in the Canticles is also de- 
scribed to be beautiful as the Moon, and 
this comparison most aptly represents the 
Blessed Virgin. As the moon shines by the 
light which is derived from the sun, and 
which she reflects; so Mary is beautiful be- 
cause she has derived from God, the source 
of all light and beauty, a participation of his 
divine light. Although the moon of itself 
is an opaque body, yet by reflecting the 
sun's light, it becomes in some degree an 
image of his glory ; so Mary, on account of 
her dignity of Mother of God, reflects the 
divine perfections, and presents to man the 
most perfect image of His beauty and holi- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



ness that can be found in a creature. As 
the moon, when seen in its full glory, ob- 
scures the stars, so the glory of Mary sur- 
passes and obscures that of all other saints. 
As God- made two great lights, the sun to 
rule the day, and the moon to rule the night, 
so, remarks a holy writer, Cardinal Hugo, 
"Jesus Christ, the Sun of Justice, shines out 
on the just with a glorious lustre, and has 
oppointed his holy Mother to be the mirror 
of his perfections for sinners/ " that by seeing 
so much holiness in one of their own race, 
they might have no pretext for continuing 
longer in crime. We cannot gaze, with the 
naked eye, on the sun in his meridian splen- 
dor, but we can fix our eye, without pain, on 
the pale beauty of the moon. The divine 
character of Jesus affords us a specious pre- 
text for our unwillingness to imitate the 
bright example he has given us ; but when 
we recollect that Mary is a child of Adam 
like ourselves, distinguished only by the plen- 
itude of grace which she received, and the 
supereminent dignity with which she was 
invested, we are encouraged and excited 
to conceive sentiments more worthy of the 
dignity of our nature. Let us, then, attend 
tc the advice of the holy Pope Innocent III., 
and if we find ourselves " lying in the dark- 
ness of sin, raise our eyes to this mystic 
naoon, and call on Mary !" 



MONTH OF MARY. 



189 



* EXAMPLE. 

In the month of November, 1838, the 
crew of a vessel which had just arrived at 
Paimpol, in France, forty-eight in number, 
accomplished a vow they had made in a 
most perilous voyage from Newfoundland. 
A terrific tempest arose, their sails were 
torn, and for three days they were in con- 
tinual danger of finding a watery grave. 
The ship at length began to fill with water, 
and all hope of safety seemed lost, when the 
crew, by common consent, turned their eyes 
to the " Star of the sea," and called on Ma- 
ry. They promised that, if she saved them, 
they would visit in the most suppliant man- 
ner the church at Paimpol, where there is 
an image of Our Lady much venerated by 
the people. They had scarcely ended their 
prayer, when the weather became more 
calm, and the waves began to subside. 
Profiting by this providential change, they 
repaired their sails, and had a favorable 
wind till they reached the coasts of Bre- 
tagne. They landed in safety at Knod, to- 
wards the decline of day, and their first act 
was to prostrate themselves on the ground, 
and give God thanks for their return. Then 
they intoned the litany of the Blessed Vir- 
gin, and advanced bare-footed and bare- 
headed, along the banks, and through the 



190 



MONTH OF MART. 



streets of Paimpol, to the church of the 
a Bonne Nouvelle." The people, who were 
attracted in crowds by the novelty of the 
sight, followed them, among whom were 
some who were actuated by a stronger and 
better feeling than mere curiosity. There 
were parents who went to give thanks for 
the return of their children ; and wives to 
thank Mary for having restored their hus- 
bands to them. The tears streamed down 
every eye, and this immense multitude knelt 
down before the altar of that powerful Vir- 
gin, who has received from her Son the 
power to command the winds and waves. 

The torches shed a dim light on the 
recess of the sanctuary where stood the 
image of the Blessed Virgin, whose inclined 
head and extended arms seemed to say to 
all the unhappy, H come to me ; I am your 
Mother." These pious mariners with the 
most touching expression of sentiment, 
chaunted the hymn, "Ave Maris Stella," 
in which they were joined by the people : — 

" Bright Mother of our Maker, hail ! 

Thou Virgin ever blest, 
The ocean's star by which we sail. 

And gain the port of rest,"* 

* Le Mois de Marie populaire, Lille, 1839. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



191 



PRAYER. 

0 Virgin Mother, thou art indeed a joy- 
ful "Morning Star," because thou didst 
announce to us Jesus the Son of justice, the 
true light of the world. Thy auspicious 
birth was the aurora of that bright day, 
which brought salvation to the world. 
Through thy light has the darkness of error 
and vice been dispelled, for thou enlighten- 
est our hearts and makest us know Jesus, 
in whom are all treasures of light, and 
truth and grace. Happy they who follow 
thy guidance ; thou wilt most certainly bring 
them to Jesus the haven of salvation. 0 
Holy Virgin, be to us light and life, that we 
may avoid the works of darkness and walk 
in the light of faith and innocence, and thus 
be worthy to see and admire thy dear Son 
Jesus, who dwells in light inaccessible. 
Amen, 

PRACTICE. 

Offer up a prayer for the diffusion of the 
Catholic faith. 

ASPIRATION. 

As the eyes of the handmaid ate turned to- 
wards her mistress, so are my eyes turned to 
thee, 0 Holy Mother of God. 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY. 



HEALTH OF THE WEAK. 

Pray for us. 

4 ' A virtue went out from him, and healed 
all"— -Luke vi. 19. 

Jesus Christ is our great physician. While 
on earth a virtue went out from him and 
healed all ; his power was always displayed 
in relieving the sufferings of the sick and 
infirm, and while his miracles attest his 
omnipotence, they display most conspicu- 
ously the mercy which is His peculiar 
characteristic. Not only did Jesus Christ 
himself exert His omnipotence for the relief 
of his suffering creatures, but he imparted 
to the Apostles the same power, and even 
told them, that those who would believe in 
his name would do still greater wonders 
than he himself had performed. So great 
was the effect of this promise that even the 
shadow of St. Peter as he passed along 
healed the sick. In every age the healing 
power of Christ has been, experienced by 
those who have invoked it in the spirit of 



MONTH OF MARY. 



193 



faith ; and in every age has he been mind- 
ful of those who served him on earth, and 
honored their memory and name, by the 
numerous miracles which have been wrought 
in favor of such as sought their intercession. 
Can we then for a moment suppose that 
Mary's name will not plead powerfully for 
us, when we suffer from sickness, or are 
alarmed at the approach of death, for which, 
perhaps, we may not be prepared. God 
seems to exert His omnipotence in propor- 
tion to the merits of those in whose name 
it is invoked ; he will not then turn away 
from the supplication of his holy mother, 
when she asks of Him for us that health 
and strength which may be, perhaps, neces- 
sary for our salvation, and agreeable to the 
designs of His ever merciful providence. 

While we invoke Mary as the health of 
the weak, we should not forget, that the 
infirmities of the body are trivial and unim- 
portant, if compared with those of the soul. 
The former are the natural effect of our 
condition, and suppose in us no culpability • 
but may become the occasion of great merit, 
when patiently endured; they are the 
warning voices which announce to us the 
approach of death, which we cannot hope 
finally to escape. The infirmities of the 
soul, on the other hand, may be said to be 
the only ones which really deserve our 
solicitude. « Our fever, says St. Ambrose, 
17 



194 



MONTH OF MARY. 



is avarice : our fever is lust ; our fever is 
luxury ; our fever is ambition, our fever is 
anger." These spiritual maladies are indeed 
most to be apprehended, because unless 
they be remedied, they bring on the death 
of the soul, that is, they deprive us of God 
who is its life, and expose us to be buried 
for ever in the abyss of hell. It is especially 
on account of Mary's influence in obtaining 
efficacious remedies for these spiritual mal- 
adies, that the church styles her the " health 
of the weak." We may be satisfied that 
much as her compassionate heart feels 
when she beholds us suffering from corpo- 
real infirmity, she feelsjmuch more when 
she considers the spiritual weakness and 
infirmity under which we labour, and 
which is to be dreaded in proportion as it 
is not felt by ourselves. Let us then apply 
to this source of spiritual health, which God 
has opened for us : let us ask of Mary to 
obtain for us a knowledge of our infirmity 
and a serious application of all our powers 
to remove it, and we will find by experience 
the fulfilment of the words, which the 
church applies to her : u He that shall find 
me, shall find life, and shall have salvation 
from the Lord."* 

The solicitude which we manifest for our 
corporal health, too often forms a striking 



* Prov. viii. 35, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



195 



contrast with our indifference to the state of 
our souls. A slight sickness fills us with 
anxiety : we deem no precaution too great, 
no remedy too disagreable, provided Ave re- 
gain our lost health. In this we but obey 
the instinct of nature, and the command of 
God, which imposes on us the obligation of 
doing all that we can to preserve his gifts. 
But is not our soul entitled at least to some 
share of our vigilance and care ? Why then 
do many remain so unmoved when con- 
science tells them, that there is no soundness 
in them, that their soul is in reality dead, 
while it has the appearance of life? Ah, 
what blindness, to fear so much a temporal 
death, and not dread that which is eternal ! 
We should imitate the prudence of those, 
who when they labour under many infirmi- 
ties, apply themselves particularly to the 
cure of that from which they have most to 
fear, while at the same time, they do not 
neglect to prvent the others from assuming 
an alarming character. We should see 
what is the spiritual malady from which we 
have most to apprehend ; whether it be 
pride, avarice, love of pleasure, excessive 
fondness of company, or ambition, and we 
should apply ourselves to overcome it 
with peculiar attention. We should not re- 
lax our efforts until we had either entirely 
subdued it, or so far succeeded as to require 
only ordinary attention. To overcome our 



196 



MONTH OF MARY, 



predominant or .ruling passion ; to deliver 
ourselves from the infirmity, which either 
has already taken, or if neglected, will most 
certainly assume a mortal character, this is 
what we should ask with peculiar earnest- 
ness from her who is the "health of the 
weak." 

EXAMPLE. 

In the year 1792, when the excesses of 
impiety in France involved the faithful 
christian in all the dangers of a sanguinary 
persecution, M. Detrez, of Lille, received 
priest's orders in a foreign country, and 
shortly afterwards returned in disguise to 
his native city, where he devoted himself to 
the service of his fellow citizens. For a long 
time he exercised the ministry there in 
private, although he was aware of the 
danger to which he thus exposed himself. 
Like the apostle St. Paul, he feared none of 
these temporal evils, and he looked on life 
as valueless, unless he could preach the 
gospel of Jesus Christ, and celebrate the 
praises of Mary, his Virgin Mother. He 
was at length arrested and confined in the 
infectious dungeons of Lille. This was 
doubtless a provision of Providence which 
thus prepared him for his future office of 
chaplain of a vast prison, by permitting him 
to experience the evils in which he was one 
day to sympathize. On being restored to 



MONTH OF MARY, 



197 



liberty he laid the foundation of s an Orphan 
Asylum in the village of Los, near Lille. 
In all the rooms of this establishment he 
placed an image of the Blessed Virgin, and 
caused the Orphans to sing the Canticle of 
the " Magnificat" every Saturday in honor 
of their holy Mother. To all those whom 
he directed in the paths of virtue, he earnest- 
ly recommended this devotion, and was 
accustomed to say, that he had great con- 
fidence in all those who practised it. He 
especially recommended it to those charged 
with the direction of the Magdalen Asy- 
lums, which he instituted ; as also to the 
community of the 6 daughter of the Infant 
Jesus/ which he established for the attend- 
ance on the sick, and the instruction of the 
ignorant. On all the festivals of the Blessed 
Virgin, the joy of his heart manifested itself 
in his countenance, and inspired others with 
zeal for the promotion of this devotion. 
When made chaplain of the prison of Los, 
— which was formerly an abbey founded 
by St. Bernard, M. Detrez incessantly re- 
commended his dear convicts, as he used to 
call them, to the intercession of this devout 
servant of Mary; and was the efficacious 
instrument of the conversion of many sin- 
ners by making them recite the prayer, 
" Remember, 0 most pious Virgin, etc." 
In the year IS 32, he was attacked by a 
mortal malady while in the monastery of 
17* 



198 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Esquermes, to the restoration of which he 
had mainly contributed. He was immedi- 
ately removed to the Orphan Asylum which 
he had founded, and which was his usual 
residence, and had the consolation of giving 
up his soul to God in the village of Los, 
which is consecrated to the Blessed Virgin., 
His remains were interred in the church of 
the Blessed Virgin, opposite the image of 
Our Lady of Grace, before which he was 
wont, every Saturday, to offer up the*holy 
sacrifice of the Mass, for the happiness of 
his country. 

PRAYER, 

In all the infirmities of the body, and all 
the maladies of the soul, be thou, 0 Mary 1 
my refuge and my relief. Numberless are 
the sick who through thee have recovered 
health. Relying on thy power and good- 
ness I fly to thee, and implore thee to heal 
my infirmities, and obtain for me perfect 
health of body and of soul, that I may be the 
better able to serve thee and thy divine Son. 
At all times thou hast been the help and 
consolation of the infirm. Thou dost lighten 
their sufferings, and dost obtain for them 
health, when it is conducive to their salva- 
tion. Thou dost assist them to make a 
happy death. Assist me, then, 0 most 
amiable Mother ; obtain for me a release 



MONTH OP MARY. 



199 



from ail sufferings, or patience to endure 
them in the spirit of resignation to God's 
holy will, that thus all my trials may tend 
to purify my soul, and detach it from all 
earthly ties. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Visit some sick person, in honor of Mary . 

ASPIRATION. 

To thee do we cry poor banished children 
of Eve ! 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY. 



REFUGE OF SINNERS, 

Pray for us. 
" Thou art my refuge" Ps. xxx. 4. 

In the Old Law, God appointed cities of 
refuge, to which such of the Jews, as through 
inadvertence should have killed a man, 
might flee from the indignation of his rela- 
tives, who otherwise might listen more to 
the voice of passion than to the dictates of 
justice, and inflict on him a greater punish- 
ment than his crime deserved. The judges 
of the city, in which the homicide had taken 
refuge, having examined into the matter, 
were either to deliver him up to the rela- 
tives of the deceased, should they find that 
the murder was the effect of deliberate mal- 
ice, or otherwise preserve them from their 
blind fur} r . Mary has been always consi- 
dered the refuge of sinners. St. Irenseus says 
that she is the " advocate of Eve," — that is, 
that she, the Mother of God, is an intercessor 
with her Divine Son for the children of the 



MONTH OF MARY. 



201 



guilty mother of mankind. Hence St. John 
of Damascus, speaking in the person of the 
Blessed Virgin, says: "I am a city of 
refuge for ail who flee to me." What a 
consolation for us poor sinners, to know that 
we have this powerful advocate to plead 
for us; that this city of God, of which such 
glorious things are said, is ever open to re- 
ceive us, and protect us within its precincts 
from the just anger of God! " We praise 
her humility," says St. Bernard, "we ad- 
mire her virginity ; but her mercy is sweeter 
to the unfortunate ; we cling more tenderly 
to her mercy, we remember it more fre- 
quently, we invoke it more unceasingly." 

We read in history, that a noble lady re- 
ceived under her protection an unfortunate 
man who declared himself to be guilty of 
homicide, through the impulse of passion. 
What was her horror on discovering that 
she sheltered the murderer of her own son ! 
This did not, however, make her forget her 
promise, or prevent her from pitying the 
misfortune of him who had inflicted so se- 
vere a wound on her heart. Alas ! how 
can we read this affecting instance of mag- 
nanimity, and not think on Mary, the refuge 
of sinners ! We have slain her beloved Son, 
because it was our sins that crucified him, 
and not the cruelty or malice of the Jews. 
We have done this, — not under the sudden 
and maddening influence of passion, but 



202 



MONTH OF MARY. 



coolly and deliberately, with a full knowl- 
edge of the act we did, of its heinousness 
in the sight of God, and of the awful conse- 
quences in which it involved us. And we 
have done this not once, or twice, or thrice, 
but numberless times ; for as often as we 
have offended God, by mortal sin, so often 
have we " crucified the Son of God, and 
made a mockery of him."* And yet, not- 
withstanding our accumulated guilt, Mary 
stretches forth her hands to receive us, and 
shelter us from the wrath we so justly de- 
serve. She is that affectionate mother of 
Thecuah, who appeared before David to 
implore his mercy for her unhappy child, 
who had slain his brother, and whose pun- 
ishment would but add grief to her grief, 
and deprive her of her only surviving com- 
fort, t Mary, indeed, cannot now feel grief, 
but her charity for souls, redeemed by the 
blood of her Divine Son, is so great, that she 
asks for each one who flees to her for refuge, 
with all the earnestness of a mother plead- 
ing for her only child. " Go," says St. Ber- 
nard, " to the Mother of mercy, and show 
her the wounds sin has inflicted on thee, 
and she will powerfully intercede for thee. 
The Son will certainly listen to His Mother." 
" By her," says St. Chrysostom, " we ob- 
tain the pardon of our sins." 



* Heb. vi. 6. 



| 2 Kings xiv. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



203 



It is impossibie for us to conceive the ex- 
tent of Mary's merciful dispositions towards 
us. The Saints of ancient as well as of 
modern times have celebrated her clemen- 
cy. " Mary/' says St. Leo, " is so endued 
with feelings of compassion, that she not 
only deserves to be called merciful, but even 
mercy itself.'' " Mary," says St. Gregory 
the Great, "by how much is she higher and 
holier than we are, is more clement and 
compassionate to converted sinners." " 0 
Virgin," cries out St. Bernard, " the judge 
and the culprit are both thy children ; thou 
canst not suffer any discord between them." 
In a word, the history of the church, as well 
as the writings of the great men who have 
in every age illustrated it, attest the wonder- 
ful influence of Mary's intercession in behalf 
of poor sinners. Those who have returned 
to God after having wearied themselves in 
the ways of iniquity, have found by expe- 
rience how efficacious was their confidence 
in Mary's mercy, and how much their hopes 
of pardon were strengthened, when they 
looked up to this refuge of sinners. They 
felt that God could not reject the prayers of 
one so holy and so merciful, even when of- 
fered up for persons so unworthy as they 
knew themselves to be. But let us guard 
against a most dangerous illusion. It would 
not be confidence in Mary, but the most 
flagrant abuse of her goodness, to make it a, 



204 



MONTH OF MARY. 



motive for deferring our conversion. Mary 
is indeed the refuge of sinners, but it is of 
those who are resolved to fly to her, by re- 
nouncing sin, and doing penance for it. To 
entertain other sentiments, — to suppose that 
we could please her while we displease God, 
or are not seriously resolved to serve Him, 
would be presumption, the more dangerous, 
as it would seem to reckon on some extra- 
ordinary instances of her wonderful influ- 
ence in the conversion of dying sinners, 
which are narrated in well-attested histories. 
God, in his inscrutable counsels, sometimes 
works a miracle of mercy, as in the case of 
the dying thief; but this is not the ordinary 
course of his providence. Mary has some- 
times obtained the grace of perfect conver- 
sion far j sinners, to ail human appearance, 
the most unworthy of it. These instances 
are however exceptions to the genera] ways 
of providence, and are afforded, us by God, 
to repel despair and not to encourage 
presumption. 

EXAMPLE. 

Whoever has had the grievous misfortune 
to offend God, cannot do better than fly to 
Mary in a spirit of penance, to obtain, 
through her, reconciliation with God. Among 
the innumerable examples of this truth, 
which the annals of the church record, that 
of St. Mary, of Egypt, is particularly re- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



205 



markable. This celebrated penitent was 
born in Egypt in the fourth century, and 
was converted from a sinful course of life 
in a very remarkable manner. She devoted 
the remainder of it to the practice of the 
most austere penance, as she related in* the 
following manner to the Abbot Zosimus, 
who met her by chance in the desert. 

In the twelfth year of her age, contrary 
to the will of her parents, she came to Alex- 
andria, where she spent seventeen years in 
the habitual commission of every base and 
degrading crime. She one day saw crowds 
embarking for Jerusalem, to celebrate the 
festival of the exaltation of the Holy Cross ; 
she accompanied them, and during the 
journey continued her irregularities. On 
arriving at Jerusalem, she mingled with the 
crowd that flocked to the church where the 
Holy Cross was to be publickly exposed ; 
when she arrived at the porch, she attempted 
to enter with the rejst, but felt herself res- 
trained by an irresistible power. This 
happened three or four times. She was 
much moved, and not doubting but that 
her sinfulness was the cause why she was 
not permitted to enter the church, she burst 
into tears. While she lingered about the 
church-door, sighing and weeping, and 
beating her breast in a spirit of compunc- 
tion, she looked up to a picture of the 
Mother of God painted on the wall. The 
18 



206 



MONTH OF MARY. 



sight encouraged her, and she addressed the 
Refuge of sinners, in these words : " Holy 
Virgin, Mother of God, I know that the 
sins in which I live render me unworthy to 
look up to thee. Thou art a pure and 
spotless Virgin. Thou who art so pure and 
holy must have a horror for a soul, so 
immersed in guilt as mine is. However, I 
have always heard that the Saviour, whom 
thou hadst the happiness to bear in thy 
virginal womb, came into this world to call 
sinners to penance. I implore thee to 
assist me in my distress. Permit me to 
enter the church, 0 Queen of Heaven ! 
Grant that, although unworthy, I may be 
allowed to enter, that I may not be depri- 
ved of the happiness of seeing that precious 
cross, on which thy son poured forth all His 
blood : I promise thee, in the name of the 
same Redeemer, never more to relapse into 
my heinous offences. As soon as I shall 
have seen the cross, I will abandon all, and 
go wheresoever thou, 0 Holy Virgin, my 
advocate and intercessor, wilt tell me." 

Having finished this prayer, she felt 
within herself great confidence. She made 
another effort to enter the church, and did 
not experience the least difficulty. She 
reverenced the holy cross, cast herself on 
her knees, and amidst abundance of tears, 
kissed the ground of the holy places, being 
deeply touched with the thought of God's 



MONTH OF MARY. 



207 



mercy and goodness in receiving sinners, 
whenever they return to Him in a spirit of 
penance. Having satisfied her devotion, 
she returned to the image of the holy Virgin, 
and kneeling down before it, thanked her 
for the grace she had obtained through her, 
and besought her to direct her in her design 
of doing penance and reforming her life. 
While she thus poured out her soul before 
the image of Mary, she heard a voice, as if 
from a distance, saying : " If you will pass 
the Jordan, you will find rest." She im- 
mediately arose, and turning her weeping 
eyes to the picture, she said: "Virgin of 
Virgins, through whom salvation has been 
brought to man, do not abandon me. I 
beseech thee grant me this favor." She 
immediately hurried to pass the Jordan, 
and buried herself in the wildest part of the 
desert, where she spent forty-seven years, 
in the practice of the most severe austerities. 
During many years she was exposed to the 
most violent temptations from the infernal 
enemy of her soul, but always was assisted 
and sustained by Mary. « In all my com- 
bats, — said she herself to the Abbot Zosi- 
mus, — I raised my heart to that immaculate 
Virgin, who had been so merciful to me, I 
begged her to assist me in my penance and 
solitude, and she has never forsaken me. 
She has been my protectress in all my 
difficulties." The holy penitent at length 



208 



MONTH OF MARY. 



obtained, through the intercession of Mary, 
the grace to receive from the above named 
Abbot Zosimus the last sacraments at her 
death, and thus passed from the desert 
which had been the witness of her extraor- 
dinary austerities, to that paradise, which 
God has prepared, — not for those who ima- 
gine that they are rich in virtue and stand 
in need of nothing, — but for the publicans 
and sinners who return to Him by a sincere 
repentance. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mother of Mercy ! thou dost not repel 
any one who flies to thee for refuge. The 
greatest sinners are received by thee, when 
in the spirit of penance, and with a contrite 
and humble heart, they fly to thee for help. 
Thou dost interpose between them and 
between Jesus, thy divine Son, our Lord 
and Judge : Thou dost shield them from the 
inflictions of his severe justice : Thou dost 
defend them against all the attacks of the 
infernal enemy : Thou expellest from their 
souls unbelief and perplexity, and dost 
infuse into their hearts the vivifying balm 
of hope. 0 Sacred Refuge of Sinners ! 
how many sinners hast thou rescued from 
the power of hell; how many hast thou 
brought over to penance and change of life ! 
Compassionate me also. To thee do I cry, 



MONTH OP MARY. 



209 



a poor banished child of Eve. Obtain for 
me penance for my sins, and the grace 
never more to commit them. Reconcile me 
with thy divine Son, and present me to him 
in the hour of my death. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Recommend to the heart of Mary some 
one of your friends, whom you know to be 
living in the habit of mortal sin, or in the 
neglect of the positive duties of religion. 

ASPIRATION. 

Let those be silent in thy praise, 0 Sacred 
Refuge of sinners, ivho have not experienced 
thy mercy / — S. Bernard. 



18* 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY. 



COMFORT OF THE AFFLICTED, 
HELP OF CHRISTIANS, i 

Pray for us. 

" Give me my people for whom I request." 
Esther vii. 3. 

We read in the book of Esther that this 
holy woman, who, amidst the splendour of 
a most magnificent court, retained the faith 
and piety which had distinguished her be- 
fore her elevation to the throne, was the 
occasion of saving her people from utter 
extirpation. The crafty Aman, instigated 
by malicious envy, had obtained from king 
Assuerus an order, whereby all the Jews 
throughout his vast dominions were to be 
massacred on an appointed day. Mardochai, 
the uncle of Queen Esther, imparted the sad 
intelligence to her, who, although not in- 
cluded in it, failed not to grieve at the 
approaching destruction of her people. 
Agreeably to the advice of her uncle, she 
resolved to appear before the king, although 
at the risk of incurring his displeasure, and 



MONTH OF MARY, 



211 



to petition him on behalf of her afflicted 
people. Knowing however, that God alone 
could cause her to succeed in her perilous 
undertaking, she resolved to prepare herself 
by fasting and prayer, in which she ordered 
all the Jews that dwelt in the royal city to 
join her. After a most rigorous fast of three 
days, and three nights, she ventured to ap- 
proach the king, and petition for her people. 
He granted her request ; and the machina- 
tions of the enemies of God's people became 
the occasion of their triumph, and elevation 
throughout the empire. How admirably 
does not Esther represent Mary, the Queen 
of heaven, who petitions God for her people 
— her fellow creatures here below, against 
whom a decree infinitely more just than 
that of Assuerus, for the extirpation of the 
Jews,has been sent forth for the punishment 
of their rebellion against the Divine Majesty! 

The supereminent greatness and holiness 
of Mary are calculated to impress us with 
most profound respect, and admiration. 
All the virtues which she possessed attract 
us by their excellence. But the mercy of 
Mary, — the sympathy which she has with 
us in our sufferings, — and the inconceivable 
desire she has to assist us in all our difficul- 
ties, are titles to our gratitude and love, 
which should call forth the warmest expres- 
sion of these feelings. Truly may we apply 
fc> her the praise given to the brave woman 



212 % MONTH OF MARY. 

mentioned in the Scripture, " the law of 
clemency is in her mouth."* Although 
raised infinitely above us by a dignity 
which the highest of the angelic host views 
with awe, still she does not forget those from 
among whom she has been taken, and who 
are exposed to the malice of that murderer 
from the beginning, who is more crafty and 
more cruel than was Aman the Assyrian. 
" Dost thou, 0 blessed Virgin, says St. Peter 
Damian to her, — dost thou therefore forget 
our lowliness, because thou art so highly 
exalted ? — No, such mercy as thine could 
not forget such misery as ours." What a 
consolation to reflect, that we have in the 
court of the heavenly king, so powerful and 
so merciful an advocate, who is ever ready 
to plead our cause. If the supplication of 
Moses, on behalf of his unworthy people, 
were so powerful with God, as to cause 
Him to order this chosen servant, not to 
pray for them, lest he should be induced to 
relent and not execute the decree w~hich 
his justice called for, how much more power- 
fully will not Mary plead for us ? May we 
not suppose that God will say to her, as He 
said to Moses ; " Let me alone that my 
wrath may be kindled against them, and 
that I may destroy them."t The charity 
of Mary in heaven, is certainly not inferior 



* Pro> - xxxi. 



\ Exodus xxxii. 10. 



MONTH OF _ MARY. 



213 



to that of Moses on earth, and she, like him ? 
will offer a holy violence to ? God by . the 
earnestness and constancy of her prayer. 
Who will despair when protected by so 
powerful an advocate ? 

An unlimited confidence in the interces- 
sion of Mary, and a prompt appeal to her 
in all our necessities and dangers, should be 
the result of the consideration of her in- 
fluence and compassion. When we address 
God Almighty, we are overwhelmed with 
confusion at the contemplation of his infinite 
Majesty, and the remembrance of the in- 
numerable offences we have committed 
against Him, " Christ, says St. Bernard, 
could suffice, for indeed, all our sufficiency 
is from Him, — but we have need of an in- 
tercessor with Christ, nor is there any one 
more influential than Mary." — And again : 
" you were afraid to appear before the 
Father, and terrified at the sound of his 
voice, you concealed yourself behind the 
tress :* He gave you Jesus as a Mediator. 
What cannot such a Son obtain from such 
a Father ? He will indeed be heard for his 
reverence ; for the Father loveth the Som 
But perhaps in Him also you fear the divine 
Majesty, because although He became man 
He remains God. Do you wish for an ad- 

* An allusion to Adam in Paradise, when he sought to 
conceal himself from God. 



214 



MONTH OP MARY. 



vocate with Him ? Have recourse to Mary. 
Mary is a pure human creature, not only 
pure from all contamination, but also pure 
by the singular excellence of her nature. I 
do not hesitate to say, that she also will be 
heard for her reverence. The Son will 
listen to the Mother, and the Father to the 
Son. My dear children, — continues this 
holy doctor and most tender lover of Mary, 
—she is the ladder by which sinners may 
ascend to heaven, she is my greatest hope, 
and the whole ground of my hope. For 
can the Son repulse her, or be himself re- 
pulsed ? will he refuse to hear, or not be 
himself heard?" — Who can read these words 
of this glorious Saint and not feel his confi- 
dence in Mary's protection wonderfully 
strengthened, and not feel that if the pious 
Monica obtained the conversion of Augus- 
tin by her prayers, much more will Mary 
obtain God's grace for us, who are her 
children, and for whose eternal salvation 
she feels much more zeal, than ever Monica 
did for that of her beloved child ? 

EXAMPLE. 

The famous victory which the Christians 
gained, in 1571, over the Turks, near Le- 
panto, in the Ionian Sea, will for ever be a 
monument of Mary's title to the appellation 
of " Help of Christians. " During more than 



MONTH OF MARY. 



215 



a century before that time, the Turks caused 
the greatest anxiety and apprehension 
among the Christians. They gained victory 
after victory. God permitted this, to pun- 
ish and humble the Christians, and by this 
humiliation to awaken their faith, as also to 
manifest His glory and power by honoring 
Mary through the wonders he was to work 
for her servants. The Turkish Sultan, Se- 
lim, the son and successor of Soliman, had 
taken the isle of Cyprus from the Venitians, 
and, elated with his success, thought of 
nothing less than of subjecting all the Chris- 
tian kingdoms to his sway. At that time 
the chair of St. Peter at Rome was filled by 
St. Pius V., whose zeal for the faith, and 
confidence in the intercession of Mary was 
unlimited. The Pope was greatly alarmed 
at the danger to which Christendom was 
exposed ; but with undoubting confidence 
in Mary, he united with the Venitians and 
Spaniards, to repel the common enemy. 
There was, indeed, no proportion between 
the Turkish and Christian fleets ; and in all 
human appearance, it must have seemed 
foolish to contend with such a superior ene- 
my*; but the holy Pope did not for a mo- 
ment doubt but that Mary would obtain 
victory for the Christians. He accordingly 
ordered general fast days, and specially ex- 
horted all Christians to flee to Mary for pro- 
tection. All Europe was roused by the 



216 



MONTH OF MAllY. 



approaching danger, and joined in this de- 
votion; and every where were processions 
and other devotional practices in honor of 
the Mother of God established. As Pius 
sent his blessing to John of Austria, the 
Admiral of the Christian fleet, he gave him 
the strongest assurance that he would gain 
the battle. He ordered him, at the same 
time, to dismiss all disorderly soldiers, or 
such as thirsted after plunder ; lest God 
should withdraw his protection from the 
cause, in consequence of such sinners. Like 
another Moses, Pius raised his hands inces- 
santly to heaven, and sought, through Ma- 
ry, the Mother of mercy, the blessing of God 
on the Christian arms. The battle took 
place on the 7th of October, 1571, at Le- 
panto. Both sides engaged with the great- 
est fury ; and for a few moments the Chris- 
tians seemed to be on the point of yielding 
to the superior power of the infidels. Mary, 
however, had heard the prayers of her chil- 
dren, and the God of armies decided the 
cause in favor of the Christians. The Turks 
were completely beaten; they lost upwards 
of thirty thousand men, and their formida- 
ble fleet was for ever destroyed. The holy 
Pope announced the victory at the very 
moment in which it was gained, He was 
then engaged in conference with the car- 
dinals, when suddenly stopping the dis- 
course, he raised his eyes to heaven, and 



MONTH OP MARY. 



said to them : " Enough of business to-day; 
at present we have nothing better to do 
than to thank God for the victory he has 
given to the Christian arms." The sequel 
showed that at the very moment in which 
Pius spoke these words, the battle was 
gained at Lepanto, and the holy Pope was 
fully convinced that this victory was to be 
ascribed to the intercession of the Mother of 
God. To leave a perpetual memorial of 
this great benefit, he inserted in her litany 
the words, " Help of Christians, pray for 
us" and instituted a special festival for the 
same purpose. Gregory XIII. ordered it to 
be celebrated throughout the church, on the 
first Sunday of October, which is therefore 
called " Rosary-Sunday." In like manner, 
in the year 1683 the Turks were complete- 
ly defeated by the Emperor Leopold I., be- 
fore Vienna, which they had besieged with 
an army of 216,000 men, and a large park of 
artillery. They had laid the whole country 
waste ; had slain or enslaved thousands of 
Christians, and threatened the whole empire 
with ruin. Meanwhile, the protection of 
Mary was fervently invoked throughout all 
the provinces, public processions and sup- 
plications were made in her honor. When 
the danger seemed most alarming, they re- 
ceived help from heaven. On the 12th of 
September the Turks were attacked by the 
Christian army, which, although vastly in- 
19 



21S 



MpNTH OF MARY. 



ferior in numbers, succeeded in giving a 
complete overthrow to the enemies of the 
faith. For the perpetual commemoration 
of this signal benefit, Innocent XL estab- 
lished the festival of the holy name of Ma- 
ry, which he ordered to be kept on the 
Sunday immediately following the 8th of 
September, the solemnity of her birth. It 
is acknowledged by all, that these two vic- 
tories, especially that of Lepanto, were the 
means of preserving Europe from the evils 
of a Mahommedan invasion. Mary is, in- 
deed, the true Esther, by whose powerful 
intercession the evils, which the enemies of 
God's people designed for them, have been 
turned on themselves. 



PRAYER. 

0 most amiable Virgin Mary, never did 
any one appeal to thee in vain. In what- 
ever distress or difficulty I may find myself, 
I am certain to obtain help and relief through 
thee. Thou art the " consolation of the af- 
flicted;" thou driest up the tears of those 
who, in this land of exile, raise their eyes to 
thee. Thou art the help of Christians. As 
Mother of Christ, thou dost consider thyself 
to be the protectress and advocate of all 
Christians. 0 amiable and powerful Moth- 
er, graciously assist us, and rescue us from 



MONTH OF MARY. 



219 



all misery and affliction. Help thy Chris- 
tian people, who, on all sides, are so severe- 
ly pressed. Protect the church of thy Son, 
that her enemies may not prevail over her. 
Defend the faithful, and especially those 
who are in danger of losing the precious 
treasure of faith. Humble their enemies, 
confound their persecutors, and rule over 
those who invoke thy name and put their 
trust in thee. Show thyself to be our 
Mother, Pray for me, that I may lead a 
Christian life, that thereby I may deserve 
to enjoy eternal happiness with God. 
Amen. 



PRACTICE. 

Give some alms to-day in honor of Ma- 
ry. Be thus the comforter of the afflicted, 
and the help of Christians. 

ASPIRATION. 

If thou dost abandon us, what will befall us, 
O life of Christians. S. German us. 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY. 



QUEEN OF ANGELS. 

" Rule thou over us ; and thy son." — Jud. 
viii. 22. 

Many are the titles, by which Mary is the 
queen of angels. She is the Mother of Christ 
who created the angels, " for in Him, says 
St. Paul, were all things created in heaven 
and on earth, visible and invisible, whether 
thrones or dominations, or principalities or 
powers: all things were created by Him 
and in Him."* She is therefore their 
Queen, according to the observation of St. 
John of Damascus. " Mary, says he, was 
made the queen of all creatures, because 
she was made the Mother of the Creator." 
She is their queen, because being elevated 
far above them in dignity and glory, they 
look up to her with the reverence, which 
such superiority is so well calculated to 
excite, and had she no other title to their 
homage, they would on the sole principle 



* Coloss. i. 16. 



MONTH OF MARY. 



221 



of her superior greatness and glory say i 
" Rule thou over us; and thy son." She is 
their queen, because her son Jesus Christ is 
the restorer not only of earth but heaven, 
according to the decree of God who has 
willed " to re-establish all things in Christ 
whether in heaven or on earth." By 
Christ's having redeemed man, those seats 
of glory, which were vacated by the disobe- 
dience of the fallen angels, are filled up ; 
and the angels — whose charity is great in 
proportion as they approach God, who is 
charity itself, — rejoice at the elevation of 
every child of Adam, who through His 
redeeming merits is raised to the glory their 
unfaithful companions forfeited. Mary is 
then the queen of angels. 

The contemplation of Mary forms a 
portion of the beatitude of the angels. As 
they admire God's works in proportion to 
their excellence, so they find in Mary — the 
most excellent of God's creatures, — more 
subject for admiration, than in the contempla- 
tion of the immense orbs of light with which 
the fiat of the Creator has studded the hea- 
vens, or all other the created glory of that 
Paradise, which St. John describes in the 
Apocalypse under such glowing imagery. 
They find more subject for the exercise of 
their sublime intelligence in contemplating 



* Ephes. i. 10. 

19* 



222 



MONTH OF MARY. 



her instrumentality in the mystery of the 
incarnation, and in the other mysteries of 
her life, than they do in considering all the 
other wonders of God's providence or his 
creatures. If the faithful servants of Mary 
on earth have felt their hearts inflamed by 
the consideration of the amiability and beauty 
of the celestial queen ; what must be the 
feelings of those blessed spirits, who see 
her, as she is, and whose superior nature 
renders them more capable,of appreciating 
the wonders of God's grace in her, than we 
can possibly be. It is not then without 
reason that the church says that the angels 
of God rejoiced at the assumption of this 
heavenly queen. " Mary is assumed into 
heaven: the angels rejoice/' 

Mary's title as " Queen of angels" should 
remind us, that we also are destined to 
enjoy the society of angels, and with them 
admire the wonders of God's power in this 
heavenly queen. We should remember 
that God has deputed some of these heavenly 
spirits to be the guardians of men on earth, 
according to that of the Psalmist ; " He has 
given his angels charge of thee, lest perhaps 
thou hit thy foot against a stone," as also 
the words of Christ : " their angels see 
always the face of my father who is in 
heaven." Each one has one of these 
guardian spirits, to protect him in dangers 
ind assist him in difficulties. When we 



MONTH OF MARY. 



223 



invoke Mary as Queen of angels, the thought 
of our future companionship with them for 
eternity, should make us endeavour to lead 
lives of angelic innocence. Gratitude for 
the care they take of us, and for the desire v 
they have for our salvation, should produce 
in our souls a desire of attending to all 
the holy inspirations, which they communi- 
cate to our souls, that thus we may prove 
ourselves faithful servants of the queen of 
angels, and prepare for the high destiny, that 
awaits us, of enjoying God in their society 
for a» endless eternity. 

EXAMPLE, 

On this day the church honors the me- 
mory of St. Maria Madaleine de Pazzi, 
who may be proposed as a model of devo- 
tion to the Blessed Virgin. The royal prophet 
says, that God is wonderful in all his Saints, 
but he gave this holy virgin extraordinary 
proofs of his love, power, and wisdom. 
While yet a child, she was the special object 
of God's favour ; and in her earliest years 
she manifested so tender a love for God, and 
such zeal for the exercise of all virtue, that 
she seemed more like an angel than a mortal 
creature. She especially watched over the 
purity of her heart, and laboured to serve 
God with all fidelity and perfection. Jesus 
and Mary were the objects which engros- 



224 



MONTH OF MARY. 



sed her thoughts. She had her eyes ever 
turned to Mary, either to obtain through 
her the grace of God, or learn to from her 
example, how to correspond with it, and 
thus in all things obey Jesus. In all her prac- 
tices of devotion she had special reference 
to the Mother of God. When she meditated 
on the mysteries of the Redeemer, — on his 
life on earth, or on his glory in heaven, — she 
always thought on the part that Mary had 
in these mysteries, and how extensively 
she hadco-operatedin their accomplishment. 
On account of this relation, the affections of 
love, respect, gratitude and confidence which 
rose in her heart towards Jesus, were at the 
same time directed to Mary, who had brought 
him forth, and given him up for the world's 
redemption. Madaieine, entered the Car- 
melite order at Florence ; from the moment 
that she solemnly renounced the worid, she 
redoubled her fervour, dedicated herself un- 
reservedly to the love of God, and laboured 
incessantly to honor his holy Mother. The 
Queen of Angels often appeared to her, to 
encourage and confirm herjin piety. God had 
permitted her to suffer, for many years, the 
most violent temptations; but in all her 
trials she failed not to recur to Mary, and 
obtained, through her, strength and courage 
to overcome ail the attacks of the enemy of 
her soul. She commended all her compan- 
ions to the powerful protection of Mary, 



MONTH OP MARY. 



225 



who, in a wonderful manner, made her 
conscious with how motherly a care, she 
watched over those who sought her protec- 
tion. Her devotion to this Queen of Angels 
was particularly conspicuous on the days 
dedicated to her memory, for the celebration 
of which she prepared herself with great 
care, and which she spent in more than 
ordinary attention to prayer. These were 
for her indeed real festivals. She was en- 
tirely absorbed in the contemplation of the 
mysteries these days commemorated, and 
so acceptable to God did this render her, 
that on these occasions she not unfrequently 
received extraordinary favors, in which she 
beheld the glory of Mary exhibited in the 
clearest light. These supernatural graces 
made her advance daily in her love of God 
and in reverence for the Queen of Angels. 
Madaleine had the most tender devotion to 
the cross : she desired nothing more than to 
suffer with her suffering Saviour, and thus 
be made conformable to Him. Hence her 
constant maxim was : " Let me suffer, and 
not die." — While most people fly the cross, 
and even the good look forward with de- 
light to the termination of their sufferings, 
Madaleine had so great a love for the cross, 
that she wished for nothing more than to be 
united with Jesus the spouse of her soul, and 
hence asked God to prolong her life, that 
she might be enabled to suffer more, and 



226 



MONTH OF MARY. 



greater things for Jesus. " Let me suffer, 
and not die." The example of the con- 
stancy, with which the Mother of sorrows 
beheld the death of her divine Son, encourag- 
ed and sustained her. God heard the pray- 
ers of this angelic creature, and permitted 
her to experience the severest and most 
afflicting trials. He even deprived her of 
those interior consolations He seldom refuses 
his servants in their last hours. Madaleine 
bore this affliction with patience, and even 
gloried in tribulation. Trusting in the pro- 
tection of Mary, she gave back her pure soul 
to God in the year 1607. 

PRAYER. 

0 Heavenly Queen, thou dost excel the 
highest of the angelic host in merit, in grace, 
and in holiness. All heavenly spirits bow 
down before thee, and praise and glorify 
thee as the most perfect of God's creatures, 
— as the most special object of his compla- 
cency, — that most blessed among women, 
who was found worthy to conceive and 
bring forth Him, who has given life and 
being to all creatures ! Honor, glory, and 
benediction be to thee, on the throne of thy 
greatness, to which God has exalted thee. In 
unison with the whole court of heaven, I 
render to thee the tribute of my homage. I * 
choose thee to be my Queen, and place my- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



"227 



self under thy protection. From thy throne of 
glory cast a gracious look on me, who am 
surrounded by so many dangers. Pray for 
me to Jesus thy Son, that I may imitate the 
purity of angels, while on earth, and thus 
merit to be associated to their glorious 
choirs in eternity. Queen of angels, obtain 
for me this favour. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Devotion to your guardian angel. 

ASPIRATION. 

U Mary, would that 1 could love thee, as 
the angels of God love thee I 

Diego Martinez. 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY. 



QUEEN OF PATRIARCHS, 
QUEEN OP PROPHETS, 

Pray for us. 

" She shall crush thy head" — Gen. iii. 15. 

The mind can imagine nothing more 
venerable among men, than the long line of 
patriarchs which connects Moses with 
Adam. Mary is said in a special manner 
to be their queen, because she was the 
Mother of Him, whose hope consoled them 
for the loss of primeval happiness and 
innocence, and sustained them in all the 
trials of their pilgrimage here below. Adam, 
beholds in her the mysterious creature, who 
was the means of repairing his transgression, 
and crushing the head of the infernal serpent 
who had seduced Eve, by bringing forth 
the Redeemer who cancelled the decree of 
God's justice against him and all his poste- 
rity. Abel beholds in her the mother of 
Him, whose sacrifice his own death so well 
prefigured. Noe regards her as the mystic 



MONTH OF MARY. 



229 



ark of which that, in which he and his family- 
were saved from the deluge, was a type, 
and which was the means of saving not one 
family, but all nations, from being over- 
whelmed by the deluge of iniquity. Abra- 
ham venerates her as the mother of that 
blessed seed, promised to him, in whom all 
the nations of the earth were to be blessed. 
Isaac sees in her the Virgin, whose myste- 
rious fecundity was typified by the bene- 
diction given to the sterility of his mother, 
Sarah, and the sacrifice of whose Son, his 
own sacrifice on Mount Moria prefigured. 
Jacob beholds in her the mystic ladder, 
which he saw when he was fleeing into 
Mesopotamia from the face of Esau; whose 
feet stood on the earth while the top thereof 
touched the heavens, — on the steps of which 
the angels of God ascended and descended, 
while the Lord himself leaned on the sum- 
mit, and renewed to him the promise of a 
future Redeemer, which he had made to 
Abraham and Isaac* Joseph venerates in 
her that stainless purity, of which he himself 
had given an illustrious example ; as also 
the bright reward which was given to it, 
in making her the mother of the Saviour 
of the world, as it had made him the 
Saviour of the land of Egypt. Who then 
can conceive the glory and veneration 



* Gen. xxviii. 12, 13, 14. 

20 



230 



MONTH OF MARY. 



which Mary receives as Queen of the pa- 
triarchs ? 

She is also styled the queen of prophets, 
because Christ her son was the great object 
of prophecy. After the deliverance of the 
Jewish people from the bondage of Egypt, 
God raised up a series of prophets, who 
foretold the future coming of the Messiah, 
and detailed all the circumstance of his 
birth, life and passion. Moses venerates 
in her the mother of that prophet whom 
God promised by him to the Jewish people, 
and whom all the sacrifices of the law 
which he gave prefigured. Josue honors 
her, as the mother of the true Josue or 
Jesus, whose victories acquired for men the 
title to the true land of promise. Samuel 
reverences her as the mysterious root of 
Jesse, which budded forth salvation to the 
nations ; and which, in the person of David, 
he had been the instrument of placing over 
Judea. Isaias admires her as the accom- 
plishment of that glorious prophecy which 
he made to Achaz ; and as the mother of 
that prince of peace, whose birth he cele- 
brated, and whose glories and humiliations 
he foretold. Elias sees in her that hope of 
man, which was prefigured by the mystic 
cloud, which was the forerunner of those 
abundant showers that refreshed a world, 
which by its iniquity had made the heavens 
of brass for the sons of men. Jeremias 



MONTH OF MARY. 



231 



reveres her as the restorer of that Jerusalem, 
over whose ruins he wept ; and the mother 
of Him, who brought back the people from 
a more severe captivity than that of Babylon. 
Daniel honors her, as the proximate cause 
of the shortening of the captivity of the 
human race, by giving to the world Him, 
by whom iniquity was abolished, and ever- 
lasting justice fulfilled. Micheas beholds 
her, whose virginal matef nity he had present 
to his view when he foretold, that Bethlehem 
of Juda was to be the temporal birth place of 
Him, whose going forth is from the days of 
eternity. In a word, as all the prophets 
foretold Christ, all rejoice in the contempla- 
tion of His Virgin Mother, who, in bringing 
forth Jesus, accomplished all the prophecies 
of the law, and was herself a prophetess, by 
fortelling that all generations should call her 
blessed. 

The providence of God in preparing the 
world for the appearance of his Divine Son 
in human flesh is most worthy of our admi- 
ration. A series of prophecies, which 
commenced immediately after the fall of 
man, was continued for near four thousand 
years, and increased in clearness and mi- 
nuteness of detail, in proportion as the happy 
term approached, in which they were to be 
accomplished. This was a preparation 
most worthy of God, and well calculated to 
give us a lively faith in the mysteries 



232 MONTH OF MARY. 

announced by the Redeemer, and an exalted 
idea of the benefits He has conferred on us. 
Well may we apply to ourselves what Jesus 
said to the Jews ; " many prophets and just 
men have desired to see the things that you 
see and have not seen them, and to hear the 
things that you hear, and have not heard 
them.* Let us endeavour to imagine with 
what feelings of veneration, the just, who 
lived before Christ, looked forward to that 
mysterious Virgin, who was to conceive the 
Son of the Most High, and give to the 
world the long expected Messiah. How 
much does the fervor of these holy souls, 
who saw the glories of His reign through 
the dimness of futurity, reproach us for our 
indifference to the benefits we actually 
possess, but which we do not sufficiently 
appreciate ! Ah, let us fly to Mary, and 
ask of her to obtain for us from Jesus, the 
grace to know the inestimable happiness, of 
living in the noon-tide light of his revelation. 
Let us never be H rebels to the light," but, 
on the contrary, profit by it, to advance on 
our journey, going from virtue to virtue, 
until we arrive at the term of our course, 
and be permitted to behold the splendors of 
His glory, who " dwelleth in light inaccessi- 
ble." 



* Math. xiii. 17. 



MONTH OF MARY* 233 



EXAMPLE. 

St. Bernard, the first abbot of Clairvaux, 
was an ornament, and pillar of the church 
in the twelfth century. He did much for 
the promotion of God's glory, by the unction 
of his eloquence, his apostolic zeal, and the 
holiness of his life. Devotion to Mary was 
his characteristic virtue. No one can read 
the prayers or sermons he composed in her 
honor without feeling himself moved. Ber- 
nard put himself under her protection, even 
from his very childhood, and the Mother of 
mercy shewed him, on many occasions, how 
acceptable to her was his devotion. When 
young, he had a vision of the Queen of 
heaven, by which he learned much on the 
incarnation. This vision enkindled in his 
heart the strongest love for Jesus and Mary, 
and gave him the idea of a great work, 
which he afterwards composed, to honor the 
Mother of God and her divine Son. Among 
other favors which Bernard received from 
Mary was the instantaneous restoration of 
his health, when he lay dangerously ill, and 
his physicians had given up all hopes of his 
recovery. Bernard endeavoured to inflame 
all hearts, with devotion to the Queen of 
heaven. To excite the faithful to have 
confidence in her intercession, he was ac- 
customed to say: « She does not want 
20* 



234 



MONTH OF MARY. 



power to help us, for she is the Mother of 
God; nor yet good will, for she is the 
Mother of Mercy, and our Mother also. 
She is not a mother merely of the just, but 
also of sinners." St. Bernard may be justly 
called, the panegyrist of Mary,because none 
of the holy fathers and doctors of the church 
have spoken of the greatness and goodness 
of Mary, with more unction, and eloquence. 
His writings would alone suffice to proclaim 
her praise to the end of the world, and to. 
enkindle the love of her in all hearts. He 
died in the 62nd year of his age, in 1153, 
and was buried in his church, before the 
altar of that holy Virgin, whom he so ten- 
derly loved, and so faithfully served. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary, Queen of heaven and of earth, 
Thou hast surpassed all the patriarchs, by 
the purity, constancy and endurance of thy 
confidence in God ; by thy hope of man's 
redemption, and by thy reliance on all the 
other promises of God. Thou hast excelled 
all the prophets, by the liveliness, submis-, 
sion, and extent of thy faith. Thou art the 
Queen of both, for they all sighed for thee, 
they all rejoiced at thy coming, as at the 
aurora of the world's salvation. All praise 
and honor thee in heaven as their Queen, 
and the Queen of all creatures. Obtain for 



MONTH OF MARY, 



235 



me that lively faith, that unshaken hope, 
through which they have attained eternal 
life, that through faith and hope, I may ob- 
tain perfect charity, and persevere to the end 
in the love of God. Thus do I hope to attain 
eternal life, and with the patriarchs and 
prophets, and all the elect of God, honor 
and adore the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 
through all eternity. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Return God thanks for the gift of faith, 
and say a " Hail Mary" for the conversion 
of all, who are strangers to this divine light. 

aspiration. 

Mary, aid thy servants, who have been 
redeemed with the precious blood of thy Son ! 

St. Bonaventura. 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY. 



QUEEN OF APOSTLES, 
QUEEN OF CONFESSORS, 

Pray for us. 

" And a great sign appeared in heaven. 
A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon 
under her feet, and on her head a crown of 
twelve stars." — Apocalypse xii. L 

This is understood by some holy fathers 
of the blessed Virgin. She is clothed with 
the sun, by her close relation to Christ, the 
sun of Justice ; she has the moon under her 
feet, for she is the great channel of God's 
mercy to man ; and on her head is a crown 
of twelve stars, because those twelve great 
lights of the world, the apostles, acknow- 
ledge her for their Queen, and encircle her 
head with a new wreath of glory. How 
these chosen disciples of Jesus Christ must 
have loved Mary — the mother of their dear 
Master! With what reverence they regard- 
ed her, who was the Mother of Him, whose 
power they seen so frequently and so won- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



237 



derfully displayed, and whose divine nature 
the Father himself had revealed to them 
through Peter! Mary was the teacher of 
the apostles, because they must have learn- 
ed from her many of the circumstances, 
which preceded and followed the birth of 
Christ, which they could not otherwise 
have known, except by express revelation. 
She is especially mentioned to have been 
united with them, in prayer and retirement 
after our Lord's ascension, when they chose 
the apostle Mathias, and the Holy Ghost 
descended upon them. We may be assured 
that as the Divine Spirit communicates him- 
self in proportion to the dispositions of those 
whom he visits, Mary received graces on this 
occasion, which made her the admiration of 
the apostolic college, by the increased zeal 
and constancy she manifested. With such 
an example before them, need we wonder 
that the apostles co-operated so faithfully 
with the graces they then received, and 
went forth to announce the glad tidings of 
salvation, without being intimidated by the 
dangers to which they thus exposed them- 
selves. If now they are bright and shining 
stars in heaven, they owe much of their 
success, to the influence of Mary's example, 
and the efficacy of her prayers. 

Mary is the queen of those apostolic men, 
whom God has raised up in every age and 
country, to be teachers in His church ; 



238 



MONTH OF MARY. 



and who have defended it by their learn- 
ing, while they edified its members by 
their heroic sanctity, and enlarged its 
boundaries by their apostolic zeal. They 
all have been the servants of Mary, whom 
they regarded as their most powerful aid, in 
all that they undertook for the promotion of 
God's greater glory. The- founders of the 
different religious orders have bequeathed 
this devotion of the Mother of God, to their 
children, as the most precious portion of their 
inheritance; and some among them have 
ordered their disciples, to merit for them- 
selves her powerful protection by the daily 
recital of her office. They knew, that as 
their only object was to promote the glory 
of God, they could not employ a more effi- 
cacious means for securing success, than the 
intercession of her, who desires, more than 
any other creature, that His kingdom should 
be established in all hearts. Hence their 
confidence in her has been unbounded, and 
their sentiments, those^of the great St. Cyril 
of Alexandria, who addressing the holy 
Virgin, says : " By thee the Trinity is glo- 
rified ; by thee the precious cross is celebra- 
ted, and adored throughout the whole world. 
By thee, Heaven exults, the angels and 
archangels rejoice, the demons are put to 
flight, and lost man is restored to heaven. 
By thee, mankind which was enslaved by 
the errors of idolatry, has been converted to 



MONTH OF MARY. 



239 



truth, believers have been baptized, and 
churches are erected, throughout the whole 
world. By thy aid, nations have done pe- 
nance. What more can be said ? By thee 
the only begotten Son of God, that true 
light, has shined on those that were in dark- 
ness, and in the shadow of death. Who 
can worthily celebrate thy praises, 0 Moth- 
er and Virgin."* 

What more efficacious means of promo- 
ting the diffusion of catholic truth and cath- 
olic piety can be employed, than to accom- 
pany all our efforts for both, by carrying 
about Mary in our hearts, and encouraging 
others to the practice of this devotion ? The 
church, solemnly addressing her, says : 
"Rejoice, 0 Virgin Mary, because thou 
alone hast destroyed all heresies." This 
was the language of men, who had practical 
experience of its truth. This was the sen- 
timent of those faithful dispensers of God's 
mysteries, who, both in ancient and modern 
times, not only overcame the attacks made 
on their own souls, but also made great 
inroads among God's enemies, either by 
bringing whole nations into the fold of 
Christ, or by renewing the face of the earth 
among degenerate Christians. If we wish 
that our exertions should be crowned by 
equally glorious results, we must use the 



* St. Cyril cont. Nestorium. 



240 



MONTH OF MARY. 



same weapons which rendered them suc- 
cessful. We will find, that devotion to 
Mary is the great bulwark of Christian 
faith and morality : because it cannot be 
practised, without imparting to those who 
adopt it, a more accurate notion of the in- 
carnation of the Son of God, and a more 
feeling sense of its immense advantages to 
us, than can otherwise be communicated. 

EXAMPLE. 

The apostle of the Indies, St. Francis 
Xavier, was distinguished by his tender de- 
votion to the Mother of God. It was on the 
festival of her Assumption that he made his 
first vows. When he visited the church of 
Loretto, he felt, for the first time, a great 
desire of devoting himself to the propaga- 
tion of the gospel in India. He was accus- 
tomed to offer up all his petitions to God, 
through the intercession of Mary ; and in 
his public instructions, after begging the gift 
of a lively faith for himself and his hearers, 
he addressed himself to Mary, whom, in 
the conclusion of his discourse, he always 
saluted with the Salve Regina, — " Hail holy 
Queen." He undertook nothing without 
first recommending it to God through Mary; 
and in the innumerable dangers to which 
he was exposed, he had recourse to her for 
protection. Far from being ashamed of be- 
ing called her servant, he gloried in this 



MONTH OF MARY. 



241 



title, and carried his beads about his neck to 
manifest it to all. In the performance of 
many of the miracles recorded in his life, 
he made use of the beads, thereby to induce 
others to practise this devotion. On being 
asked for some token, by a merchant of 
Meliapore, who was about to embark for 
Malacca, he gave him his beads, saying: 
" They will be of some use to you, provided 
you have confidence in Mary." The ship, 
in which he embarked, had scarcely got out 
of port, when she was driven on the rocks 
by a furious tempest, and shattered to pieces. 
The merchant, full of confidence in the 
Blessed Virgin, applied to her, who is not 
without reason called the " safety of the 
shipwrecked." He held up the beads given 
him by Francis, and suddenly found him- 
self miraculously transported to the shore. 

St. Francis had a particular devotion to 
the immaculate conception of his dear 
Mother, and endeavored on all occasions to 
propagate it. When about to undertake the 
conversion of great sinners, he never failed 
to place his hope of success in Mary, by 
whose intercession he also hoped to obtain 
the remission of his own offences. In one 
of his letters he says : " I have taken the 
Queen of heaven for my protectress, that thus 
I may obtain the pardon of my innumera- 
ble sins." In his instructions he always 
insisted much on the greatness of the Moth- 
21 



242 



MONTH OF MART. 



er of God, and spared no exertion to induce 
others to place themselves under her pro- 
tection. At the moment of his death, — 
which occurred in the island of Sancian, al- 
most in sight of that China, to which this 
most zealous servant of Mary so much de- 
sired to announce the gospel, — he appealed 
to her, by often repealing the beautiful and 
touching language of the church : " Show 
thyself a mother." 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary, the apostles left all things for the 
promotion of God's glory; the confessors 
labored unceasingly for the same glorious 
object. Thou hast surpassed the apostles by 
the perfection of thy sacrifice, and by the 
fervor of thy zeal ; thou dost excel the con- 
fessors, by the intrepidity with which thou 
didst confess Christ, when abandoned by all, 
and expiring on the cross. 0 sacred Vir- 
gin, obtain forme a portion of the apostolic 
spirit, a zeal for my own salvation, and the 
salvation of my brethren. Make me en- 
deavor, by all means in my power, to ex- 
tend the kingdom of thy divine Son, and 
offer incessantly my prayer for the conver- 
sion, of all who are yet sitting in darkness 
and in the shadow of death, or who are 
estranged from the one fold of the one Shep- 
herd, thy divine Son. Make me ever ready 



MONTH OF MARY, 



243 



to confess Jesus Christ both by word and 
work, that thus, through thy powerful in- 
tercession, 0 Queen of Confessors ! I may 
be acknowledged by Him, before His Hea- 
venly Father. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Devoutly recite the Litany of the Blessed 
Virgin, for the propagation of the Catholic 
faith. . 

ASPIRATION, 

Rejoice, 0 Virgin Mary, thou alone hast 
destroyed all heresies in the whole world I 



THIRTIETH DAY. 



QUEEN OF MARTYRS, 

Pray for us. 

" Thy own soul a sword shall pierce." 
Luke xi. 35. 

When the holy Simeon took the infant 
Jesus into his arms, on the day of his sol- 
emn presentation in the temple, he an- 
nounced to the Virgin Mother of the Mes- 
siah, that this child was set up to be 
contradicted, and that a sword should pierce 
her own soul. Although all the life of 
Mary was marked with suffering, especially 
after the birth of Christ, this prophecy re- 
ceived its perfect accomplishment, when she 
beheld her Divine Son in the hands of his 
enemies, and saw him endure every variety 
of torture, which the malice and cruelty of 
his persecutors could inflict. These suffer- 
ings of the Mother of God are the peculiar 
objects of the church's devotion. She in- 
vites her children to sympathize with this* 
most sorrowful and afflicted Mother; — to 
stand with her under the cross of the ago- 



MONTH OF MARY, 



245 



nizing Jesus, and hear her address to them 
the words of the prophet Jeremias : " 0 all 
you that pass by the way, attend and see, if 
there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow."* 
We cannot consider the part which Mary 
had in the sufferings of her divine Son, 
without addressing her in the language of 
the same prophet : " To what shall I com- 
pare thee, or to what shall I liken thee, 0 
daughter of Jerusalem? — to what shall I 
equal thee, that I may comfort thee, 0 Vir- 
gin daughter of Sion, for great as the sea is 
thy destruction."! 

To consider the nature and extent of 
Mary's sorrows, we must remember that she 
suffered in proportion as she loved. Her 
love of Jesus kne w no bounds. The strong- 
est feeiings of maternal affection in other 
creatures, are not to be compared with hers: 
for as she was far removed above the con- 
dition of our fallen nature, her sensibilities 
were proportionably increased ; and as no 
mother had such a Son, no mother ever 
loved a son, with such pure and ardent af- 
fection, as Mary did Jesus. Much as she 
loved Him as man, she loved Him much 
more as God ; and hence her maternal affec- 
tion partook in some degree of the in- 
finite character of its divine object. " In 
other saints," says St. Bernard, " the 

* Lamentations i. 12. j Lara. ii. 13. 

21* 



246 



MONTH OF MARY. 



greatness of their love diminished the 
excess of their sufferings; but the more 
Mary loved, the more she suffered ; and her 
martyrdom was the more painful." What 
then must have been her feelings ; how 
poignant her grief, at beholding all that Je- 
sus had to endure from the treachery and 
weakness of his disciples; the calumnies of 
the false witnesses, and the blasphemies of 
his judges; the buffets and mockery of the 
high priest's servants; the scourging, crown- 
ing with thorns, and outrageous mockery of 
the soldiery ! 0, what a sight was present- 
ed to this most afflicted Mother, when Pi- 
late produced Jesus to the people, — His hair 
clotted and face disfigured with the blood 
which yet continued to stream down from 
his perforated temples, — His body, one con- 
tinued wound by the heavy and numerous 
stripes he had received,— -and covered with 
the garment of mock royalty, in which the 
barbarous soldiery had clad Him ! What 
an accumulation of sorrow must have over- 
whelmed her, when she heard the inhuman 
cry of exultation, with which the infuriate 
multitude received the suffering Saviour; 
and heard them cry out with deafening 
shouts : " Away with this man ;— crucify 
him, crucify him !" 

It was on Calvary that Mary's tender and 
loving heart received the most bitter wound. 
Place yourselves in spirit by her side, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



247 



and contemplate the sad spectacle she there 
had to behold. All the outrages and cruel- 
ties, all the mockeries and insults of the 
preceding part of the passion, seem now 
collected together, and discharged at once on 
the suffering Jesus. " He suffered in the 
body : says a holy writer, she in the heart." 
When she saw her beloved son stretched on 
the cross, and beheld the rough nails driven 
into his sacred hands and feet ; when she 
heard the blows of the hammer, and saw 
the body of Jesus writhe in excruciating 
agony under this most barbarously cruel 
torture, how she must have suffered ! When 
the cross was raised ; and during the three 
hours that Jesus hung in living death upon 
it ; every moment Mary suffered as much as 
would have caused her death, had not God 
supported her in an extraordinary manner. 
Every look she cast on Jesus — every expres- 
sion of agony she discovered in him, — every 
insult He received, was a renewal of a mar- 
tyrdom, which has merited for her the title 
of "martyr of martyrs." The devout 
servant of Mary, St. Bernard, addressing 
this Queen of martyrs, says: " Truly, O 
Blessed Mother, a sword pierced thy soul — 
for before it reached the body of thy son, it 
passed through thy heart. And indeed 
after Jesus had expired, that lance which 
pierced His side, did not affect his soul, but 
transfixed thine. For His soul was no longer 



248 



MONTH OF MARY, 



there, but thine could not be torn from it ; 
Thy soul was then overwhelmed with 
sorrow, so that we justly call thee more 
than martyr, in whom the force of sorrow 
excelled the sense of corporal suffering. 
Was not that address of Jesus more piercing 
than a sword, and reaching even to the 
division of the soul from the spirit : — " Wo- 
man, behold thy son !" — 0 what an ex- 
change ! John is given to thee for Jesus ; — 
the servant fcr the Lord, — the disciple for 
the master, — the son of Zebedee for the 
Son of the Most High God, — a mere man, 
for the true God ! How must this have 
affected thy most loving heart, when even 
its remembrance pierces our stony and 
flinty breasts ! Wonder not, brethren, that 
Mary is said to be a martyr in her soul. 
Let him be astonished at it, who does not 
remember that Paul enumerates among the 
greatest crimes of the Gentiles, that they 
were without affection. Far be that from 
Mary ; far be it from her servants. But 
perchance, some one may say : Did not she 
know he was to die ? Undoubtedly. Did 
not she hope that he would arise ? Most cer- 
tainly. And did she then grieve at his cruci- 
fixion ? Most bitterly. But who art thou, 
brother, or whence hast thou derived that 
wisdom to make thee more astonished at 
the grief of Mary, than at the sufferings of 
Jesus ? He could die of corporal agony : 



MONTH OF MARY. 



249 



she could not die with Him of sympathy. 
Charity, greater than which no man hath 
had, caused his death : Charity, the like of 
which no one hath had after her, caused her 
grief." Let us compassionate this most 
afflicted Mother, and be ever mindful that 
she justly claims not only our sympathy, but 
our gratitude. As it was the sins of men 
that caused the sufferings of Jesus; it was 
the sins of men that caused the grief of 
Mary. She suffered for our salvation, ac- 
cording to the prophecy of Simeon : " Thy 
own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of 
many hearts thoughts may be revealed." 

EXAMPLE. 

Among the saints who have distinguished 
themselves by devotion to the Blessed 
Virgin, St. Francis of Borgia is particularly 
remarkable. This great man was Duke of 
Gandia, but left the world to serve God in 
the Society of Jesus, of which he was the 
third General. While in the world, he led 
a very holy life, but God, who had great 
designs on him, inspired him with a desire 
of drawing still nearer to Him, by leaving 
all for His sake. When the Empress Isa- 
bella, the consort of Charles the 5th, died in 
the bloom of youth, Francis received from 
the Emperor the honorable commission of 
accompanying the corpse of the deceased 



250 



MONTH OF MARY. 



from Toledo, where she died, to Granada, 
the burying place of the kings of Spain. 
Before the body was delivered to the clergy 
at Granada, Francis was obliged to identi- 
fy the corpse of the late Empress. On 
opening the coffin, the face of the deceased 
was discovered to be so awfully deformed, 
by the progress of putrefaction, that no trace 
of her former countenance could be discov- 
ered. At the sight of this disgusting mass 
of rottenness and corruption, a ray of God's 
light shot across the soul of Francis, who 
recognised in this, the fate of all earthly 
greatness and beauty. He had no sooner 
returned to his house, than he threw him- 
self on his knees before God, and spent the 
whole night in prayer, in tears, and reflec- 
tion. He then made the following vow, 
which he constantly repeated and confirm- 
ed. " Lord I promise thee, that I will never 
more serve a creature, whom death may 
snatch from me." After the death of his 
wife, he executed his resolution: he renounced 
all earthly honors, possessions, and hopes, 
and entered into the Society of Jesus, to 
serve God in humility and retirement. 
During his life this great Saint had a most 
ardent devotion to Mary. He said some 
prayers every day in her honor, especially 
the Rosary. He made this the occasion of 
meditating on the mysteries of our Saviour's 
life and death, which the church wishes to 



MONTH OF MARY. 



251 



place before the minds of her children in this 
devotion. Whenever he m'editated on the 
incarnation of the Son of God, or on his 
life and death, he turned his thoughts to 
Mary, who had so great a part in all these 
saving mysteries. In the meditation on the 
incarnation, he considered Jesus in the vir- 
ginal womb of Mary ; in the mysteries of 
his birth and childhood, he represented to 
himself this same divine Saviour, in the 
arms of his holy Mother ; in his private life, 
he saw Jesus subject to Mary as her Son. 
In the years of his divine mission among 
men, he thought Iioav carefully Mary treas- 
ured up all the words and instructions of 
her divine Sou. In the sufferings of Jesus, 
he beheld Mary, suffering through the ex- 
cess of love and grief, transfixed by the 
sword of grief, and standing at the foot of 
the cross. He especially desired to excite 
in his heart the same sentiments as Mary 
experienced on these occasions. Thus in 
all his meditations on the mysteries of re- 
demption, his eyes ever turned to Mary, who 
so lovingly and heroically contributed to 
our salvation. The boundless confidence 
that he had in Jesus, as his Saviour and 
Mediator, was founded principally on Mary, 
whom he regarded as his advocate with her 
divine Son. He sought to make all men 
participate in His feelings towards Mary, 
and in his confidence in her intercession. 



252 



MONTH OF MART. 



He propagated this devotion with wonder- 
ful success among all classes, and thereby 
was enabled to preserve many souls from 
vice, to recall many others to duty, and to 
excite others to enter on the way of perfec- 
tion. Being convinced that we never pray 
in vain, when we offer our prayers, through 
Mary, to her divine Son, he had recourse to 
her on all occasions, and always found in 
her support and consolation ; and that fre- 
quently in a very wonderful manner. So 
true is it, that Mary never abandons her 
servants, and that, as St. Bernard has re- 
marked, no one can seek in vain, the aid of 
this Mother of mercy, who applies to her 
with an humble, filial and confiding heart. 

PRAYER. 

0 Mary Queen of Martyrs ! how bitterly 
didst thou weep at the sufferings and death 
of thy Divine Son ! how much hast thou 
suffered for the sins of men ! By the merits 
of thy bitter sorrows, obtain for me a sincere 
repentance of my sins, and the gift of 
tears to lament them. Although innocent, 
thou hast suffered excessive torments, for 
my sake ; and yet how little do I think of 
all that my sins have made thee endure ! 0 
most sorrowful Virgin ! obtain for me a 
most tender devotion to the sacred passion 
of our Divine Lord. Make me remain with 



MONTH OF MARY. 



253 



thee on Calvary, under the cross of thy 
agonizing Jesus, and mingle rny tears with 
his precious blood. Make me the compan- 
ion of thy sufferings, by my constant devo- 
tion to the passion of thy dear Jesus. Trans- 
fix my heart with sorrow at the sight of 
His sufferings, and at the remembrance of 
thy sorrows ; and make me duly prepare for 
death, by crucifying my corrupt inclinations, 
and dying daily to the world and its vani- 
ties. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Recite the " Stabat Mater" in honor of 
this most afflicted Mother. Make the cross 
the frequent subject of your meditation. 

ASPIRATION. 

O Mother, fountain of love, make me feel 
the force of thy sorrow, and iveep with thee : 
inflame my heart with the love of Christ, my 
God ! y 



22 



THIRTY-FIRST DAY. 



QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS, 

Pray for us. 

" After this I saw a great multitude which 
no man could number, of all nations, and 
tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing 
before the throne. — Apocalypse vji. 9. 

The Most Holy Virgin survived her 
Divine Son for many years, in which she 
continued to be the consolation and edifica- 
tion of the infant church. How her heart 
must have exulted at beholding the name 
of Jesus honored throughout the world, 
and the darkness of idolatry and immo- 
rality vanish before the bright light of 
His everlasting gospel ! She doubtless ex- 
perienced inconceivable joy at the increase 
of God's kingdom; and felt that all she had 
endured, was more than compensated for, by 
the glorious results which followed the 
humiliations and sufferings of her Divine 
Son. But what language can express the 
intimacy of that union of her soul with 
God! Although she longed to be dissolved 
and be with Christ, she patiently submitted 



MONTH OF MARY. 



255 



to the dispositions of God's providence, and 
made her desire of enjoying God's heavenly- 
bliss give way to her wish, to promote his 
love among men. When the time ap- 
proached, in which she gave up her pure 
soul to God, how joyfully did she exult at 
the prospect of passing to the enjoyment of 
that God, who had done such great things 
for her, and, through her, for all mankind ! 

Although Mary was not exempted from 
the stroke of death, God did not suffer that 
body, of which Jesus Christ assumed flesh, 
to undergo the consequences of death, or to 
remain in the grave. " The flesh of Jesus, 
says St. Augustin, was the flesh of Mary/' 
and as God did not permit His Holy One to 
see corruption, so He did not permit the 
immaculate body of the Holy Virgin to 
moulder in the tomb. Although not an 
article of faith, it is one of the most sacred 
and venerable traditions of the Christian 
church, which cannot be called in question 
by any of her children, without grievous 
presumption;— that Mary's body, like that of 
her Divine Son, was raised by God from 
the grave, and being united with her sacred 
soul, assumed into heaven. Hence in the 
joyous festival of her assumption, which the 
church has celebrated from the earliest 
times, this spouse of Jesus Christ calls on 
her children to exult. " Let us all rejoice 
in the Lord while we celebrate the festival 



256 



MONTH OF MARY. 



of the glorious Virgin Mary, at whose 
assumption, the angels rejoice and praise the 
Son of God." Let us also rejoice with the 
angels of God, and behold in spirit this 
holiest and most perfect of God's creatures 
enter into that heaven, which, though her 
Son Jesus, she had opened to man. If 
Solomon, when he saw his mother approach, 
rose up, and ordered a throne to be placed 
for her at his right hand : can we doubt but 
that Christ, of whom Solomon was a type, 
honored the approach of his loved and 
faithful mother; placed her on a throne, 
far above that on which the highest of the 
angelic host are seated, and crowned her 
Queen of Angels and of Saints. 

St. Bernard thus invites the daughters of 
Sion, that is, the children of the church, to 
contemplate the glory of this heavenly 
Queen : " Enter and see this great Queen, 
and the diadem, wherewith her Son has 
crowned her." Yes, raise your eyes, 0 
Christian soul, and behold this Queen of all 
Saints, enjoying the united glories you have 
separately considered. See her, surrounded 
by the angelic hosts, and all the heavenly 
powers, — the cherubim and seraphim, the 
thrones and dominations; — encircled by the 
glorious choir of apostles, the venerable 
company of prophets, and the white-robed 
army of martyrs. Behold the confessors 
and virgins, who have followed in her foot- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



257 



steps, by the practice of the evangelical 
counsels. Admire the holy matrons, who 
have honored Mary, that most favored 
among women : whose divine maternity has 
been their consolation and support, and who, 
in imitation of her, have consecrated to God, 
the gifts they received from Him. See her, 
in a word, surrounded by all that is holy 
and venerable in human nature,— by the 
saints of every tribe and tongue, and by those 
who have sanctified themselves, in humble 
as well as in elevated stations, — in the midst 
of the corruptions of the world, as well as 
in the sacred asylums of religious retirement. 
If the contemplation of each one of these 
classes be more than sufficient to engross 
our attention and excite our admiration, 
what must be the effect of their united splen- 
dors! what the brilliancy of that crown 
which Mary has received from her Divine 
Son as Queen of all the Saints ! "Who," 
asks St. Bernard, "can appreciate the 
brightness of those gems, or name the stars, 
of which the crown of Mary is composed ?" 
But let us remember, that if we wish to be 
associated to this glorious groupein heaven, 
we must rank with them on earth, by copy- 
ing their imitation of the virtues of the 
Queen of Saints. 

22* 



258 



MONTH OF MARY. 



EXAMPLE. 

St. Andrew Corsini affords us, in his life, 
an example from which we may learn how 
efficacious is the intercession of the Queen 
of Saints, in withdrawing the sinner from the 
error of his way, and exciting him to aspire 
to, and attain a high degree of perfection. 
Before the birth of Andrew, he was offered 
to the Blessed Virgin, by his holy parents, 
as the first fruits of their marriage. On the 
night in which he was born, his mother, 
Peregrina, had a dream which filled her 
with alarm. It seemed to her, as if she had 
brought forth a wolf, who, fleeing to a 
church, was changed into a lamb. This 
was a picture of what was afterwards to 
happen to Andrew. His pious parents em- 
ployed every care and precaution, to bring 
him up in the fear of God; but, as too often 
happens, through the influence of bad com- 
pany, an immoderate desire of play, and 
neglect of duty, he fell into the greatest dis- 
orders. Dissipation hurried him from one 
vice to another; until he was without affec- 
tion for his parents, whom he disobeyed 
without remorse, so that all who knew him 
were full of apprehension for the future. 
Meanwhile, his Mother, mindful of her 
dream, sought consolation from Mary by 



MONTH OF MARY. 



259 



continual prayer. Andrew was one day- 
preparing for a party of pleasure ; and he 
expressed himself in a very disrespectful 
manner to his mother ; she burst into tears, 
and told him the depth of her affliction. 
"Jndeed, son," said she, "you are the wolf 
tiiat I saw in my dream." Andrew, some- 
what moved at these words, said : " What 
do you say, mother ? Ami a wolf?" Pere- 
grina hereupon related the whole dream 
that she had had, and also mentioned that, 
before his birth, she had offered him to the 
Blessed Virgin. So great was the impres- 
sion this made on Andrew, that he was un- 
able to sleep during the following night. 
The thought, that he had been dedicated to 
the Mother of God, occupied his mind, 
a Virgin Mother," he at length exclaimed, 
" because I am thy servant, I will unceas- 
ingly serve thee." At the break of day, he 
went to the church of the Carmelites, and 
prostrated himself before an image of Mary, 
offered himself up to this merciful Mother, 
and bade her change this wolf into a lamb. 
He repeated this prayer again and again ; 
at length it was heard. To serve the holy 
Virgin in a perfect manner, he asked the 
prior of the convent to admit him into the 
order. Having obtained this request, he 
showed, by the piety of his life, that the 
dream of his mother was not an idle fancy. 



260 



MONTH OP MARY. 



Andrew made great advances in virtue, 
and was soon an experienced master in per- 
fection. He was subsequently ordained 
priest in obedience to the orders of his supe- 
rior, and soon after was made bishop. In 
all the circumstances of his life, he cherished 
a fervent devotion to Mary, his powerful 
protectress; and sought all opportimities of 
proclaiming her praises. He was called to 
the nuptials of the heavenly lamb in 1373, 
and experienced, in his last hours, the pow- 
erful intercession of her, who had procured 
for him the grace of conversion, and inspir- 
ed him with the desire for perfection. 



PRAYER. 

0, Queen of heaven and of earth ! G od 
has loved and honored thee above all crea- 
tures : and now thou art exalted above all 
saints in the kingdom of heaven. All ad- 
mire thy virtue and perfection • all praise, 
and reverence thee as their Queen. 0, glori- 
ous Queen ! despise not my petitions : ac- 
cept of my homage, my veneration and my 
love. I commend myself to thy powerful 
protection, and dedicate to thee what I am, 
and what I have. On thee do I found my 
hope, for although thou art my Queen, thou 
art also my gracious and amiable Mother. 
Thou hast quitted this world and entered 



MONTH OP MARY. 



261 



into possession of thy kingdom. Thy ele- 
vation has increased thy compassion for the 
hapless children of Adam. From the 
sublime throne on which thou art seated, 
cast thy merciful eyes on the inhabitants of 
earth, and take pity on them. Thou 
seest to what dangers, they are exposed, as 
long as they sail on this tempestuous sea, 
on which so many have been wrecked. 
Obtain for me perseverance in the grace of 
God, that on quitting this world I may chaunt 
thy praises and benefits, and, in union with 
thee, give endless praise and glory to our 
common Creator. Amen. 

PRACTICE. 

Resolve to think often of heaven, and 
make use of every opportunity of impress- 
ing yourself with a high idea of its happi- 
ness. When you see beautiful objects, think, 
with a holy servant of God, how much 
more beautiful is God ! When you taste 
any thing that pleases you, think, how much 
delight is found in the enjoyment of heaven. 
When you hear fine music, think of the 
choirs of angels. 

ASPIRATION. 



O Mary, who can refuse to love thee ! 



CONCLUDING EXERCISE. 



" Give me thy heart" — Prov. xxiii. 26. 

Besides the general motives which should 
attach us to the service of Mary, there are 
some special ones, which are calculated to 
make us consecrate to her our heart, con- 
formably to the received custom of conclud- 
ing the, exercises of this holy month. The 
heart is described by our Blessed Saviour 
as the seat of our disorderly passions ; and 
it is recognized by all as the symbol of our 
best and holiest feelings. If, then, we wish 
to purify it from all disorder, and offer it a 
pleasing sacrifice to God, — if we are pre- 
pared to comply with the ob Ligation which 
he has imposed on us, of giving Him our 
heart, we cannot do better than conse- 
crate it Mary, and endeavour to assimi- 
late it to her heart, which is so closely 
united, with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

If we find ourselves defiled with the sins 
of years, and desire to offer to God, the 
sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart, — 
whom can we apply to, more able or willing 
to aid us when we ask of God to " create a 
clean heart" within us, than she, whose 



MONTH OF MARY. 



263 



heart was ever pure from the defilements of 
sin, and who on that account is most pow- 
erful with God ? If we feel ourselves op- 
pressed by the consequences of Adam's sin, 
and find that passion seeks to gain those 
hearts, which we would wish to preserve 
pure,— what can we do more calculated to 
give efficacy to our prayer, that " our heart 
may be immaculate" in His sight, than to 
turn our eyes to Mary, and make her im- 
maculate purity the object of our desires? 
Do we desire to say with the psalmist : 
" Lord, my heart, is not exalted?" Let us 
look to Mary, who, although supereminent- 
ly holy and elevated in dignity, yet kept 
her own nothingness so constantly before 
her eyes, as to find no motive more power- 
ful for magnifying God, than that he had 
vouchsafed to look down on ( her. Do we 
desire that our hearts should glow with love 
of God, and that we may be able to say to 
Him : " place me as a seal upon thy heart V y 
What can we do better than seek, by 
loving Mary, to love Him, whom she loved 
with a love stronger than death ? 

We read in the life of a great servant of 
God, the blessed Alphonsus Rodriguez, a 
lay brother of the Society of Jesus, — that in 
his devout simplicity be once said to the 
Blessed Virgin : " My most amiable mother, 
I know that thou dost love me, but thou 
dost not love me as tenderly as I love thee 0 " 



264 



MONTH OF MARY. 



Hereupon he seemed to hear the Blessed 
Virgin reply : " What sayest thou, Alphon- 
sus ? 0 how far above thy love for me, is 
my love for thee : there is less distance 
between heaven and earth !" Let us then 
be intimately convinced that our holy 
mother loves us, above all that we can 
conceive, and let it be our only aim to love 
her without measure. Let us love her as 
the saints have loved her : — as St. Bernard, 
who styled her the " ravisher of hearts," — as 
St. Aloysius, whose heartbeat as often as he 
pronounced her sacred name, — as St. Philip 
of Neri, who called her "his delight," — 
as St. Stanislas of Kostka, who communica- 
ted to those who heard him a portion of the 
ardour, with which he himself was inflamed, 
as often as he spoke of his "dear mother — 
as the devout Blosius, who asks with amaze- 
ment ; " 0 Mary, who is there that does not 
love thee ?" — as St. Teresa, who took her for 
her mother when death had deprived her 
of her earthly parent, — as St. Mechtildis, 
who procured by prayer that she should be 
in a special manner the child of Mary : — in 
a word, as all the saints have loved her. 
We are her children ; let us then love her 
with filial love. 

EXAMPLE. 

The fruits of the devotion to the immacu- 
late heart of Mary have been lately exhibi- 



MONTH OF MARY. 



265 



ted, in a very extraordinary manner, in a 
confraternity attached to the church of Notre- 
Dame-des-Victoires in Paris. This parish 
is situated in the centre of that city, and 
contains apopulation, almost entirely engros- 
sed with the cares and pleasures of life, the 
agitation of politics, and the amusements of 
the theatre. Almost every religious senti- 
ment seemed extinct in the vast majority of 
the people : the church was deserted even on 
the greatest solemnities, and the sacraments 
were entirely neglected. The zealous 
pastor of this church, afflicted beyond mea- 
sure at the evils he was obliged to witness, 
without being able to remedy, resolved to 
consecrate his parish to the most holy and 
immaculate heart of Mary. The archbishop 
of Paris approved of this devotion, by an 
ordinance of the 16th December, 1836. On 
the third Sunday of Advent the exercises 
commenced by singing the vespers of the 
Blessed Virgin, at which a more numerous 
congregation assisted, than was wont to be 
on the greatest festivals. A sermon was 
preached on the nature and object of the 
devotion ; after which, at the Benediction of 
the Holy Sacrament, the Litany of the 
Blessed Virgin was sung. The " Refuge of 
Sinners," was chaunted with extraordinary 
feeling, and with an effusion of sentiment, 
which showed, that among this congrega- 
tion, consisting of from five to six hundred 
23 



266 



MONTH OF MARY. 



persons, there were many who felt the need 
they had of the divine mercy, and the con- 
fidence they placed in the intercession of 
Mary. 

The pastor was kneeling before the 
Blessed Sacrament, and felt himself deeply 
affected at this manifestation of feeling. He 
raised his eyes to Mary, and recommended 
to her protection this pious association. 
"As a sign of thy protection, added he, 

obtain for me the conversion of M — . 

I will visit him to-morrow in thy name." 
This gentleman was one of the last minis- 
ters of the virtuous, but unfortunate, Louis 
the 16th. He had been attached to the 
sect of pretended philosophers of the last 
century, and had not practised any of the 
duties of religion since his youth. He was 
now in the 80th year of his age; and, for 
some months, had been sick and blind, 
although his intellect was as strong as ever. 
Ten times had the worthy pastor endea- 
voured to approach him, and ten times had 
he been refused entrance. On the follow- 
ing Monday, the 12th December, he pre- 
sented himself once more, but was denied 
admittance ; he persisted, and at length was 
allowed to enter. After some moments of 

indifferent conversation, M said to 

his pastor without making any preamble ; 
" Please give me your benediction— I am 
delighted at your visit ; I cannot enjoy the 



MONTH OF MART. 



267 



satisfaction of beholding you; but I feel 
your presence. Since your visit, I enjoy a 
peace, a calm, an interior joy which I have 
not known before. 59 The pastor did not 
let this opportunity pass without profiting 
by it, and completely succeeded in the great 

object of his visit. M — survived until 

the following April, and all his time was 
devoted to the great concern of his salva- 
tion. He expired in the most edifying 
sentiments of faith and hope. This manifest 
benediction of God on the infant association, 
inspired its members with increased confi- 
dence in Mary. The devotion was soon 
propagated, not only in France, but through- 
out the rest of Europe; so that Naples, 
Portugal, and Sweden, are the only coun- 
tries whose names were not inscribed, on the 
register of the association, at the time of the 
publication of the book whence these facts 
have been taken.* We even find New 
York, Charleston, Dubuque, Detroit, the 
Bermuda isles, Martinique, and St. Domingo 
mentioned as possessing members of this 
most amiable devotion. The present Pope 
Gregory the 16th, by an apostolical brief, 
dated the 24th April, 1838, erected the 
association into an arch-confraternity, and 
enriched it with many spiritual treasures. 
The most hardened sinners have been 



1839. 



268 



MONTH OF MARY. 



converted, in a manner that showed that 
these miracles of grace were the result of 
Mary's powerful intercession, which the 
fervent prayers of the devout members of 
this association procured. 



ACT OF CONSECRATION 
TO THE 

SACRED HEART OF MARY. 

0 sacred and immaculate Heart of Mary 
ever Virgin ! 0 Heart, most holy, most 
pure, most noble, most august, and most 
perfect which the omnipotence of God has 
formed in a pure creature ! 0 exhaustless 
source of goodness and mildness, of mercy 
and of love ! model of ail virtues ; perfect 
image of the adorable Heart of Jesus ! 0 
Heart which didst always burn with the 
most ardent charity, which didst love God 
more than the Seraphim, more than the an- 
gels and the Saints ! 0 Heart of the Moth- 
er of the Redeemer, which hast so lively a 
sense of our miseries, which didst smTer so 
much for our salvation, which hast loved us 
with such ardent love, and which claimest, 
by so many titles, the respect, love and ven- 
eration of all creatures, — vouchsafe to accept 
my unworthy homage. Prostrate before 
thee, 0 sacred Heart of Mary, I honor 
thee with the most profound respect of 
which I am capable. I thank thee for the 
sentiments of mercy and of love with which 
thou hast been so often moved, at the sight 
23* 



270 



MONTH OF MARY. 



of my miseries. 1 return thee thanks for 
all the benefits which thy maternal bounty 
has procured for me. I unite myself with 
all pure souls, who find their delight in 
honoring, praising, and loving thee. 

0 most amiable Heart ! thou shalt be 
henceforward, after the Heart of Jesus, the 
object of my veneration, of my love, and of 
my devotion. By thee will I approach my 
Saviour; and by thee will I receive His 
graces and mercies. Thou shalt be my re- 
fuge in affliction, my consolation in suffer- 
ing, and my assistance in all my necessities. 
I will learn from thee purity, humility, and 
obedience; and derive from thee, love of the 
Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, my Lord and 
Master. Amen. 



PRACTICE. 



BECITE THE 

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF MARY. 

Lord, have mercy on us ! 
Son of God, have mercy on us ! 
Holy Ghost, have mercy on us ! 
Jesus Christ, hear us ! 
Jesus Christ, graciously hear us ! 
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on 
us ! 

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have 

mercy on us ! 
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us ! 
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us ! 
Heart of Mary, conceived without the " 

stain of sin ! 
Heart of Mary, full of grace ! 
Heart of Mary, sanctuary of the Holy 

Trinity ! . 
Heart of Mary, tabernacle of the In- g 

carnate Word ! ^ 
Heart of Mary, after God's own Heart ! f ^ 
Heart of Mary, illustrious throne of ^ 

glory ! 

Heart of Mary, perfect holocaust of 

divine love ! 
Heart of Mary, abyss of humility ! 
Heart of Mary, attached to the cross ! 



272 



MONTH OF MARY, 



Heart of Mary, seat of mercy ! 

Heart of Mary, consolation of the af- 
flicted ! . 

Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners ! g 

Heart of Mary, advocate of the church, [ 
and Mother of all the faithful ! f > 

Heart of Mary, after Jesus, the most £ 
assured hope of the agonizing ! 

Heart of Mary, Queen of angels and of 
Saints. 

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of 

the world, spare us 0 Lord ! 
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of 

the world, hear us 0 Lord ! 
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of 

the world, have mercy on us. G Lord ! 

V. 0 Most sacred and amiable, heart of 
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us ! 

R. That our hearts may be inflamed with 
divine love. 

PRAYER. 

0 God of goodness, who hast filled the 
holy and immaculate Heart of Mary, with 
the same sentiments of mercy and tender- 
ness for us, with which the Heart of Jesus 
Christ, thy Son, and her Son, was always 
overflowing ; grant that all who honor this 
Virginal Heart, may preserve until death a 
perfect conformity of sentiments and inclina- 
tion with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, 



MONTH OF MARY. 



273 



who with thee and the Holy Ghost, lives 
and reigns, One God, for ever and ever. 

Amen. 

ASPIRATION. 

O Mary ! Thou art light in our doubts, con- 
solation in our sorrows, and protection in our 
dangers ! After thy only Son, thou art the cer- 
tain hope of faithful souls ! Hail, hope of the 
desponding, and refuge of the destitute; to 
whom thy Son has given such power, that 
whatever thou wiliest is immediately done. 

Blosius. 



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